


David for a Dad?!

by Nekohime1



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, dadvin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2018-12-22 17:23:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11972088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekohime1/pseuds/Nekohime1
Summary: David didn't expect to see Max inside of the foster home. Max didn't think he would fight tooth and nail to get custody so quickly. But of course three weeks later they're heading back to Camp Campbell for another summer well spent. Max would be sure to stir up some hell while there





	1. Chapter 1

The muffled music was the only noise the filled the car as it stumbled down the dirt road, heading to the place where parents drop their kids off when they don't want to deal with them anymore- at least in Max's opinion.

It was only three weeks ago when the Camp Man walked into a foster home, deciding it was about high time he took his life to the next level. Though words couldn't even begin to describe how painfully surprised and sad he felt when he watched Max stroll around while others were playing. Of course wedge Max saw David, he was surprised. But his face instantly changed into a careless expression as he turned to walk away, muttering a curse under his breath.

David didn't know what to expect, after all Max was picked up just like the other campers. Well... maybe a bit later then the other campers... Max's escape attempts were at an all time high towards the end of summer, and he did seem really odd when his parents arrived. Though those were pieces of a puzzle David failed to put together.

Of course David wasn't going to leave him there. The others who worked at the foster home was surprised David wanted Max so quickly, and even more so by how happy-go-lucky he was. Even after Max clearly stated that he would make David's life a living hell, he was unfazed. In fact, David got full custody in record time. It was given to him just a few days before now.

Running over a hole caused the entire car to jump brought David back into his senses.

"Jesus Christ David!" Max scolded immediately as he stopped his music and pulled his headphones back.

"Sorry about that, but look! We're almost there!" David apologized but quickly tired to bring up a conversation now that the eleven year old had his attention on him.

"Yeah, another summer of mine wasted at this God forsaken place. Seriously David, I don't know what the fuck you see in this place." Max stated easily looking out the window.

"Language Max." He answered quickly, which only earned himself an eye roll. "Camp Campbell is an amazing place to be. I'm sure you'll enjoy it because I have even more activities planned for this year!" David started, his green eyes going wide and bright with excitement. "Besides, aren't you excited to see Nikki and Neil again?" David asked, which got him no response. Most likely because he didn't want to admit it. Through three short weeks, it was easier and easier to read Max. Most likely because David already spent the previous summer with him.

Soon enough, the car stopped right in front of the counselors cabins. It was then an idea struck David. "Hey Max. The QM and I are gonna start setting up some tents soon. Why don't you grab one and set it wherever you want?" David offered, which caused a ghost of a smile to plague Max's lips before it turned up into a smirk.

"I think I'll take you up on that deal." Max said as he got out of the car and walked to where the tents were. David got out of the car as well and took a deep breath, today was going to be a great day. Not only was it the day of setting up the Camp, but also most of the kids where coming later on in the day.

David really did have his work cut out for him.

~Line Break~

Max smirked as he looked around. Where would he set up his tent for three little shits keen on making this place turn upside down? Eventually he found the perfect spot. It was close to the water and the forest, but far enough from where the usual tents were set up. It wasn't painfully far from the counselors cabin- not that being away from David was painful or anything. It was just that David didn't sleep much at night, just like him. So it was better to talk with David then lie in bed. Well... sometimes.

Max was even sure to grab the biggest tent. So that there would be plenty of room for the three of them. But there was a bit of work to be done if this place was going to be just right for them.

~Line Break~

David wasn't too surprised to see Gwen pull in not long after him.

"Goooood morning Gwen!" David called as he ran towards the female. He pulled her into a tight hug and lifted her in the air for a moment before sitting her down and lightly giving her a friendly punch to her arm.

For Gwen it was a different experience. It was more like a overly nice psychopath came and squeezed all of the air out of her lungs before dropping her down and punch her arm. She shook with anger for a second before she took a few deep breaths to help her calm down.

"Yeah. Hey, David." She said while standing up fully. Another three months of this... Though her chill returned and she crossed her arms, catching a glimpse of Max. "How's everything going with him?" She asked curiously, already knowing about the situation with David and Max. In fact, the day David found Max in the foster home, he called her later that night freaking out.

"It's been going pretty great so far! Max really is a good kid." David spoke up immediately, eager to talk about Max like any other parent. David saw Max dragging away a tent, so he took the opportunity to wave hi to the child. Even though the kid was far, David could still see him roll his eyes and flip him off before he continued dragging the tent.

Gwen crossed her arms and nodded, humming softly for a moment. "Yeah... sure." She said as she went inside to help set up, not really believing things were going as well as David said.

With Gwen, David, and the QM at work, it was easy to set up the different camps for each kid, setting up the tents and shoving bunk beds inside. Then soon enough the first camper arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The campers all return for another fun day at camp!

The first vehicle showed up, inside was Space Kid. Of course David was excited that the first camper arrived.

"Welcome back Space K-"

"Dammit, you just had to be the first one?" Max groaned earning a 'Language!' from David. Space Kid smiled inside of his helmet and he went over to Max easily.

"Well technically, you're the first Max!" Space Kid pointed out with an awkward laugh, Max just rolled his eyes and waited for the next.

Surprisingly enough, the rest came from a bus. It made him wonder why Space Kid wasn't on the bus, but it was probably because he was too excited to wait. Though his thoughts were cut short as he was tackled to the ground.

"Max!" Two familiar voices called out as he saw a green haired female using his body as a trampoline. Though it was only for a moment as he recieved a hand up from Neil.

"We were a bit worried you wouldn't be here this year, since you weren't on the bus." Neil pointed out, which just caused Max to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, I can tell how worried you two are by your attempt at fucking murder." He commented before he began walking. "Lets go, I'll show you to our tent."

"Wait! Max!" David quickly called out to the three. "All of the campers are going to the Mess Hall so we can go through a series of ice breakers." David proposed with his signature smile.

"David, we all already know each other." Max stated coldly as Nikki nodded.

"Therefore the point of your activity is utterly useless." Neil added. David pouted and slouched slightly as he watched the three of them, though he respected their decision. Max watched this, his expression completely unreadable before he rolled his bright eyes and sighed.

Instantly changing their course, instead of heading towards the tent that Max was planning to show them, he went straight to the Mess Hall. Nikki and Neil were surprised by this, but didn't question it as they made their way over. As soon as David saw them, his eyes instantly got their spark.

"Max! You three-"

"Shut up!" Max instantly cut him off as they took their seats.

David was touched anyways. "Alrighty campers! Let's get these ice breakers started!"

~Line Break~

"Max! Come do the trust fall!"

"And why the fuck would I do that?"

"It's -" A loud thud echoed across the room along with a curse.

~Line Break~

"Alright! Now that we have these anonymous letters! I'll go ahead and read them aloud. 'David, go suck a-' alright we'll skip that one. 'Magic is real if you believe in it.' Alright! Nice creativity in that one. ' My Uncle will sue if I don't have a better video of me in space.' I'll go ahead and put that in my pocket to remind me later."

~Line Break~

"Alright campers, we'll go ahead and let you all choose your tents now. Gwen, do you have anything that you want to add?" David asked, a smile wide on his face.

"Don't share a tent with anyone who you're going to cause problems with." Gwen said as she shrugged easily.

"Too late!" Nikki said happily as she grabbed Max and Neil before running out of the Mess Hall. Gwen just let out an exhausted sigh, knowing that this would be quite the long summer.

~Line Break~

"Wow! You actually chose a really nice one!" Neil said as Nikki instantly chose which bed was hers, which was closest to the exit of the tent.

"The perks of getting here first I guess." Max replied with a shrug.

"Why are you here first anyways, I would've thought you would avoid here as much as possible." Nikki asked as she dumped her bag down with Neil who nodded curiously.

"My parents just dropped me off." Max lied easily, so easily that it even surprised him. He didn't know why he didn't tell them David adopted him, either way he'll get to it eventually. Besides, they seemed to accept what he said.

~Line Break~

Gwen watched the kids leave the room and glanced over at her co counsoler. "Are you sure things are going alright with Max?"

David smiled softly, not surprised nor bothered by her question. "It may not seem like it but it really is going fine. I've only had him for a few weeks and it's already quite easy to figure out what he means. He's not a complicated person." David spoke, causing Gwen to smile softly and pat his shoulder.

"Well, it looks like you two have it figured out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following day, it was no surprise that the Wood Scouts had come from across the lake. "Seems like your loser camp here had barely changed." Pikeman taunted as they walked around, almost as if they were above the campers here.
> 
> Max merely rolled his eyes as his hands were shoved in the pocket of his hoodie. "What are you doing here?" Max asked, it was way too soon for these dumbasses to come here now.

The following day, it was no surprise that the Wood Scouts had come from across the lake. "Seems like your loser camp here had barely changed." Pikeman taunted as they walked around, almost as if they were above the campers here.

Max merely rolled his eyes as his hands were shoved in the pocket of his hoodie. "What are you doing here?" Max asked, it was way too soon for these dumbasses to come here now.

David merely smiled at the new faces as he placed his hands on his hips. "Now Max, that's no way to talk to our friends." David said, trying to make the situation somewhat lightly.

"Friends?" Pikeman and Max said simultaneously. Of course both were confused by the term. Since when was Camp Campbell and the Wood Scouts ever considered friends. After all, they had constantly tried to steal campers and the camp. They even stole Max for a few hours before he made his escape after a stupid rope course they managed to get him on. He believed Neil and Nikki ended up over by the Flower Scouts? Either way, the Wood Scouts and Camp Campbell was far from friends.

"Of course. I know they tried to take over the camp in the past, but this is a new year! So we should all start off with a clean slate." David encouraged, which caused Max to groan. David's constant optimism was practically poisonous.

"Yeah, right. As if any of your campers "grew" over the course of ten months. They're as undisciplined as ever!" Pikeman accused, especially with his growth comment considering Max hasn't managed to grow an inch yet. The shorter male glared at the zit covered brat as he strolled over and kicked his shin, causing a quick jolt of pain to take over Pikeman as he held up his leg. "Ow! You little brat- See! Undisciplined."

"I'll show you something undisciplined." Max threatened as he causally snapped his fingers. Nikki, who literally appeared out of nowhere, got down on all fours and began growling at the current threat- The Wood Scouts. "Sick em!" Max ordered as Nikki burst out in uncontrolled barking, instantly bounding over to Pikeman first. You have to take over the leader first after all! Pikeman let out a scream of surprise before David quickly intervened. He picked up Nikki, who in turn, bit his hand.

David was already used to this pain, so he just tensed up and held out his hand, letting Nikki dangle out in the air a bit. "Why don't you all stay and enjoy an activity with us?" David offered.

"What the actual FUCK Tabii." A voice sounded out as three Flower Scouts walked towards their camp.

"I've been away from my Neil for ten months! He's here, I can smell him!" The crazy blonde yelled as she walked closer. Max just groaned louder and tugged at his curly locks.

"What the hell!? Don't you all have your own camps to go to?!" Max yelled, just wanting all six new faces to leave.

"Max." David scolded as Max let out a sigh. This day was going to be more then exhausting. "All of you are free to enjoy some activities with us." David invited as the six were thinking about the decision.

"Of course, we'll stay." Tabii answered for the Flower Scouts and Pikeman shrugged.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He decided.

David smiled as he kneeled down to Max, to be a bit more on his level as Nikki finally stopped biting his hand. "Max, could you show them to the Mess Hall?" David asked. Max narrowed his eyes slightly, though instead of saying something insulting, he sighed softly and glanced at the Scouts.

"Follow me." He said as he began walking and Nikki quickly joined them. "Nikki, you should warn Neil that his bride to be is coming." Max said as Nikki smiled widely.

"Awe! Does that mean my bro is gonna have a girlfriend?!" Nikki asked, desperate to get more details out of Neil. It was clear that their parents have been meeting up more during the school year. Nikki instantly ran ahead of the group as she went to go deliver the message to Neil.

As they were walking, Max could feel Pikeman's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. "What do you want?" Max asked, not bothering to even glance at him.

"You seemed...rather obedient to David earlier..." Pikeman accused. He assumed Max would have insulted the older male.

"Why don't you go suck a dick, Pikeman?" Max said, a bit defensively if anything which only made Pikeman more suspicious. It was clear something happened and it was something he was desperate to figure out.

As the seven of them walked into the dining area, they heard a loud shout.

"THE FUCK?!" Neil's high pitched scream echoed,it seems Nikki was a little too late since they were already here. Tabii's instincts kicked in as she ran towards Neil and almost tackled him, though the nerd had a bit of reflexes and dodged easily. "YOU! Stay the FUCK away from me!" Neil shouted as Tabii could only give a lovesick grin.

"But Honeybuns! It's been way too long." She cooed as she stood a bit too close to him. Neil awkwardly looked away and let out a sigh.

Gwen just glanced at the new faces and her face scrunched up slightly in confusion. "The fuck?..."

"David." Max answered and the female rubbed her temple lightly.

"Of course... Well, right now we're eating lunch. So just.. take your seats or something and I'll tell the Quarter Master to get you all plates." Gwen said as she trudged away. Max was going to take his usual seat by Neil, but that was obviously taken by the crazy chick, so he sat across from his friends and got surrounded by Wood Scouts and Flower Scouts.

As the QM came around with food, he gave everyone a pile of slop, though Max shook his head at his offer. Of course Max had brought food from David's house before they came. And he was also going to get something edible out of bringing his sworn enemies to the Mess Hall without complaint.

Pikeman picked at his food as he glanced at the Indian boy. "Because it seems just in your character to deny everything, and never do as your told."

"Seriously? Are we bringing this up again? Why don't you just mind your fucking business?" Max threatened as Pikeman eyed him closely. Usually intruding other's personal lives was meaningless to him. But maybe David did something that could make Max listen? Maybe David bribed him? If they could find what David had over Max's head. they could take it and use it to have Max join the Wood Scouts and actually listen! This brought back up some memories from last year as he smirked softly.

Maybe it was the bear...

Max knew the look Pikeman was giving him should have been somewhat concerning, however he didn't look into it as Tabii was currently torturing his best friend by trying to feed him. It seemed that if he gave her the love attention she needed, it would make them leave faster. At least half of his problem would be over with. Aiming carefully, Max took up his fork and took a bit of Sasha's food before slinging it into Neil's mouth, causing him to choke.

"Quick! Tabii! He needs mouth to mouth." Max said with sarcastic concern. The female went to work immediately, though her version of CPR was completely mouth eating Neil's face. Thankfully David walked in and was able to pry the Flower Scout off of Neil and did a quick Heimlich to get the food lodged out of his throat.

"Jesus Tabii, get yourself together!" It seemed that this was the end of the Flower Scouts. Max didn't notice that one of the Wood Scouts had slipped away. Though what he did notice was that Tabii had her love stroke of the day and the other two Scouts were leading her out, rolling their eyes at the time they wasted here.

Max smirked before seeing the Wood Scout come back over, a certain gleam in their eyes as Pikeman cleared his throat. "It was nice here, but it seems that we have to take our leave." He said, Max smirking softly. He managed to get rid of all six of their asses at once!

David smile never faltered. "Well, it was short, but we enjoyed having you nonetheless!" He said as he watched them leave, and Max was more then happy that they were leaving. However the male couldn't help but to narrow his eyes slightly. They just came, and then they just left? What was that for? Something didn't seem right here, and Gwen seemed to be catching on too.

"Something's not right here..." Gwen muttered as Max nodded, David just curiously glanced between the two. It was obvious that he had no clue what was going. He just thought it was normal that those six came, and only three left on normal terms.

Gwen and Max looked at each other. "Let's follow them." Gwen said and Max smirked softly as he nodded. The idea intrigued him, usually he didn't care about what they were doing. Though this time it was better then eating the slop, so he would see where this was going. David looked over and saw Max's plate and coughed awkwardly. "Me and Max will go check by the counselor's cabins, you, Nikki, and Neil can go scout around, see what you find?" David suggested. Max shrugged slightly and Gwen nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." She said as the five of them went to work.

Once Max and David were inside of the counselor's cabin, Max gave him a suspicious look. "What are we doing over here?" He asked as David went into the microwave they had, and pulled out a plate. Which had a few slices of pizza on it.

"I noticed you didn't eat much, so I wanted to give you something." David explained as he handed the plate to Max, who looked a bit surprised. Sure, he was going to get food out of this anyways, but he didn't think David would come up with the idea first.

"Oh u-um... thanks?" He asked slightly as he began eating, though just outside the window, they saw the three Wood Scout campers running quickly towards their boat. Max dropped his plate at what they had seen.

The Woodland Scouts sneaking out with Mr. Honey Nuts and documents of all the campers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so here's Chapter 3. Sorry for it being a bit later then others, but college classes are thing now, so updates will be every Saturday from now on. I hope you all enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max felt himself tense up. "Those... Those ASSHOLES!" Max shouted, David was completely unaware of what was going on until he looked out the window. He couldn't understand why Max was so attached to that bear, but he did notice that it was something he always had nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for all of the reviews and favorites, they make me so happy. I love reading what you all have to hear. I decided to give an extra chapter ahead of time since it is a three day weekend for me. I just wanted to end the chapter with Pikeman so I can go ahead and start thinking what their next adventure could be.

Max felt himself tense up. "Those... Those ASSHOLES!" Max shouted, David was completely unaware of what was going on until he looked out the window. He couldn't understand why Max was so attached to that bear, but he did notice that it was something he always had nearby. David didn't ask about it, since he didn't want Max to instantly go into defensive mode. He was planning on asking when the time was right. Max immediately ran out of the door after him, with David right behind him. "Get back here!" Max called.

Pikeman noticed that he was caught and the three ran faster, considering they had more training, they ran quite a bit faster then the campers. Max whistled as a signal to Gwen, Nikki, and Neil. The five of them was quick after the Wood Scouts. The Wood Scouts were not nearly fast enough as Nikki jumped up and instantly began biting 'Snake's' leg.

Pikeman narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand why you're so against this David." He sneered. "We can whip your campers right into shape. They have no discipline!"

"And YOU all have discipline? 'Snake' there literally stabbed me last year!" Max defended. "Now give that stuff back before I make you wish you never came." His tiny body slowly starting to get hot with anger.

Pikeman rolled his eyes. "And what could you possibly do?"

"It doesn't matter what he can do. It's what I can do. I'm the adult here, and I'm telling you to return everything right now." David said, in the most serious voice he could muster.

"Oh please. You're barely an adult." Pikeman insulted, only to be brought by his knees as Max ran over and punched him straight in his balls.

"Take that back you piece of shit!" He instantly defended David, which literally surprised everyone.

"Alright, enough of this." Gwen said as she walked over and snatched the documents out of Pikeman's hands. She was about to take back the bear before Pikeman jumped away.

"This! This is what has you listening AND defending David? Isn't it?" He asked, though the look of confusion on everybody's faces seemed to prove him wrong.

"Well... you do seem to treat David differently nowadays." Neil asked as Nikki let go of Snake's leg.

"Yeah.. you know what... Neil has a point." The green haired female asked. All eyed were now on Max and David. The focus wasn't on the bear anymore, but now on a nervous looking Max and David.

"DID you take his bear? That's kind of fucked up David." Neil criticized.

"He didn't take him, or use him against me." Max explained and glared at Pikeman. "You're a dumbass." He explained, which only caused him to get angry.

"Then why do you suddenly care?!" He accused.

"Why do YOU care?!"

"I want to know to use it against you!"

"Well it's nothing you can bribe me with!"

"Then what is it!"

"DAVID ADOPTED ME!" Max blew up. He froze when he said it, the air was suddenly silent for a moment as his red face suddenly went to a normal tan. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Now give it back."

Nikki and Neil were silent for a moment, a thousand thoughts coming through their minds as Gwen took control of the situation again. "It's time for you all to leave." Gwen said as she snatched back the bear. Not wanting to upset his love too much, and obviously getting into a subject that wasn't somewhere he wanted to be near; the Wood Scouts left.

Gwen handed Max back his bear, but he just handed it to David. "Can you hold onto this for now?" He asked softly as David rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course Max. We'll.. .We'll let you talk with your friends." David explained and gave Max and gentle pat on his head before leaving the three.

"Why...Why didn't you tell us?" Neil broke the silence as Max sighed.

"It wasn't something I exactly wanted to go around saying." The three friends looked at each other for a moment before Nikki smiled.

"So, David is like your Dad?" She asked.

"What? No!" Max instantly rejected as Neil gave a weak smile himself.

"Well, now we really can mess with him, and we can take his keys and get into the pantry." Neil offered, coming up with some schemes as the other two smirked.

"I know exactly where he would keep them too."

So it seemed like Nikki and Neil accepted the sudden news, and didn't make fun of him at all. Max would never call David Dad, after all, David was better then his Dad.

~Line Break~

Gwen and David were hiding behind some trees, smiling softly that the three made up easily enough. Now all that was left to do was to hide the keys to the Mess Hall.

When Gwen and David went back to the camp, it seems the other campers seemed to have caused their own Hell. The QM was tied up against a tree, a few fires were set, and the Mess Hall was broken into. When Gwen got the QM down, the three adults went into the Mess Hall to the campers currently eating up their pudding stock.

"This is all you." Gwen said, rubbing her temple as she took Max's bear to put in their cabin as David laughed awkwardly.

"Looks like you all got into some trouble... How did you all even manage to do this?" David said, they were gone for about five minutes. Four of which Max wasn't even here for, so he honestly didn't think his little troublemaker could even do this.

"I did about...give or take half of this." Max said with a shrug, causing the rest to chuckle softly.

"Get him!" Nikki screamed as the rest of the campers had the QM tied up, once again with David.

"M-Max? I thought you were listening more?" David asked, confused by Pikeman's words. Since he did seem to be listening to him more.

"Seriously? I have to have to keep you on your toes." Max explained with a shrug.

David sighed. "It's not that bad to listen, you know?"

"Like with Daniel? Or even worse, Jen?"

The group of campers shuddered at the memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter involves Jen and what happened!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well kids, I guess that's the last we'll be seeing of Daniel. From now on it's just you, me and-" The car pulled in quickly behind him as David turned around. "Gwen?"
> 
> "David! Fire that FUCKING weirdo because I found us our newest camp counselor, Jen!" Out of the vehicle stepped out a replica of Gwen, except with bleach blonde hair and a (somewhat) better outfit.
> 
> "I'm really into fashion and trashy magazines!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So as you have heard from the last chapter, this was a three day weekend. I love to update whenever I have the time, and I had no homework, so I decided to get this one out of the way. I love hearing your feedback and I love all of the comments. You all really are too kind. I hope you enjoy how the fanfiction is going so far. My last chapter had a lot of misspellings in it, and I wanted to apologize. Sometimes I rush to get out a chapter, even if I had plenty of time, and I forget to reread. I'll find a way to fix it and I'll try to slow my roll haha.

"Well kids, I guess that's the last we'll be seeing of Daniel. From now on it's just you, me and-" The car pulled in quickly behind him as David turned around. "Gwen?"

"David! Fire that FUCKING weirdo because I found us our newest camp counselor, Jen!" Out of the vehicle stepped out a replica of Gwen, except with bleach blonde hair and a (somewhat) better outfit.

"I'm really into fashion and trashy magazines!" Jen stated easily as she held up a magazine as an example. The pages fell open, landing on a picture with the words KILL and MAKE THEM PRETTY written everywhere in red pen. It looked like she drew circles to cover the eyes and the mouth; to be honest it was a truly horrifying picture. Each camper had pale faces and seemed like they just saw Death for the second time that day, well, everyone except for David and Space Kid.

"Howdy Jen!" Space Kid said as he waved happily to the new face.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Max said as he pointed to Jen. "REALLY?! Gwen! You're supposed to be the one with some sense!" Max instantly accused. Gwen crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, a smile still playing on her lips.

"I do have sense, and so does she. Do you see how nice her outfit is?" She asked as she sighed. "Unfortunately we have a dress code. So after we get your paperwork done then we'll go ahead and get you the uniform."

Jen's smile never left, though it was almost impossible to ignore the shift in the atmosphere. "That's fine with me." Her carefree voice explained as Gwen smiled.

"Alright, well, me and David are going to go ahead and get you signed up ASAP!" Gwen said quickly as she pushed David into the counselor's cabin.

"So I guess this is happening..." Max muttered as Gwen looked at the children. She crossed her arms and set her magazine down on the hood of the car.

"Tell me, do you kids like fashion?" Jen asked as she circled the group of kids. After their run in with Daniel, no one was so quick to answer. Well, except for Space Kid. He would have said something if it was something that applied to his interests or his camp. Jen shook her head as she eyed the kids, her icy blue eyes never left them.

"Kids! Fashion is an important part of today's society." Gwen said as she crossed her arms. "It's hard to see any fashion at all with any of you." She instantly degraded, most was silent but Space Kid laughed softly.

"I dunno, my outfit is pretty fashionable." Space Kid said as the group narrowed their eyes at him, including Jen. "Haha, Fair enough." Space Kid said, not taking it as an insult.

Jen smiled softly, the attention was back on her now. "Why don't we all go to the Mess Hall and I can teach you all a thing or two." Though Max shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, fuck this. I had enough of cults for one day." Max said, while Neil nodded.

"Yeah, I have no interest in fashion." Neil explained, he was a nerd! He didn't care too much about his image as long as he had his computer.

"Yeahhhh... I think I'm pretty tired." Nikki agreed as the rest of the campers began to mutter excuses as well. Before they got too long, a knife landed specifically in front of Max; since he was the one leading the group away.

"I don't think you all understand. We are going to the Mess Hall." Jen explained as the campers felt a wave of fear twist inside of their stomachs. Max continued to keep his cool demeanor though. Even though Max was never one to play hero, he was already brainstorming ideas of getting them out of this one. Unfortunately, he couldn't just walk into that 'gas chamber' that Daniel had made. Then, get David to finally notice something was up and then finally save them.

"Jesus Christ, why do we have to put up with this?" Max asked as he began walking towards the Mess Hall. He had no clue where Jen just grabbed a knife from, but it was definitely hers. After all, no camper here had a bright pink bedazzled switch blade. Well... no one here would get caught dead with that. Granted, the jewels might attract Nikki or Nerris, but the two had a certain standard as well.

When the kids were inside of the Mess Hall, Jen smiled widely. "Now campers, we're all going to be making some clothes. I'll hand out some magazines as a way for you to all go off of." She explained, in her mind she knew it was pointless though. They didn't hold fashion to the same standard that she did. All she wanted to do was make them pretty and that was exactly what she would do. They would be her dolls...

Max looked at the sewing and knitting kits that was in front of them and Max looked at his two friends. He instantly went to work on one of his many skills, knitting a Max doll as a stand in. It was done in a matter of minutes as he nodded at them. "Keep her distracted." He said as the two nodded. Even though they would like to leave with him, it would definitely be noticeable if three campers were replaced instead of one. So Max put up the stand in and effortlessly got out, another talent of his. As soon as he felt safe, he instantly booked it to the counselor's cabin. Instead of knocking, he burst inside. Surprising David who was doing the paperwork and Gwen who was watching her dramas on T.V.

"Max? What are you doing here?" David asked curiously as he set his pen down, Max was panting as he pointed at Gwen.

"You dumbass! How is it both of you managed to hire cultists?!" He questioned as David crossed his arms.

"Max, I thought we were over this whole 'cult' nonsense." David scolded as Max could feel himself shake with anger.

"How are you both so blind?! Did you NOT see her magazine? She's in a cult!" Max explained as Gwen shrugged.

"I mean, did she try to hurt any of you yet?" She asked, not fully paying attention as her gaze switched from her shows to Max.

"She threw a knife to stop us." Max gave an immediate answer as David sighed.

"Alright Max, let's go check this out I guess." He said as he stood up, Gwen fist pumped as she went back to watching her shows. Clearly she just wanted to get away from the campers so she could catch back up and try to relax a little. As the two walked back, Max couldn't really prove anything. While the campers looked scared shitless, all that was really being done was knitting and sewing. "Max, I'm getting tired of this." David explained and crossed his arms. To be honest, Max didn't know why he even went back to David. It was clear through Daniel that David wouldn't believe him.

"Oh! There you are Max!" Jen said, her icy blue eyes scanned over to Neil and Nikki, who suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable as Max's stand in flopped against the table. "You have quite the skill." She explained, looking back down at him.

"I'm sorry about this Jen, if he gets to be too much trouble-"

"Oh no! He's fine. In fact, I'm sure we could use his skills right now." Jen explained, which only made a pit grow in Max's stomach. David smiled, happy that someone else was able to recognize Max's talents.

"Then I'm sure he'll fit in just fine. I'll go finish off your paperwork." David said as he scooted Max closer to Jen before walking off. Neil stood up on his chair.

"You went to DAVID for help?"

"I was trying to get Gwen!" Max defended, but now Jen was done with that conversation.

"Max, you never told me you had such talent." She explained as she walked over to his stand in and picked it up, inspecting his work. She nodded as she , tossed it to the side.

"Let's see what we can do with that."

~Line Break~

David was walking back to the counselor's cabin when he saw the magazine that was left of the hood of the car. He hesitated slightly before he grabbed it and went inside of the cabin. Gwen paused her story and looked up at the entering red head.

"How'd it go?" She asked curiously.

"Well, everything was fine. Though I found one of her magazines Max was talking about." David said as he sat beside Gwen on the couch. The female shrugged as she took it and began to look through it's contents. Everything seemed normal until they reached the page with the red marker drawings.

"Well.. isn't that artistic!" David said with a smile. Gwen frowned and instantly hit him upside the head and stood up.

"Alright, let's go deal with this." She said and they walked back to the Mess Hall.

~Line Break~

Max threw the scarf he was forced into knitting of the ground. "I'm tired of this shit!" He screamed. Each camper was currently standing straight, afraid to move because of the numerous tacks that was holding their outfits together in case any sizing needed to be done. Max's fingers were starting to cramp intensely at how many outfits he got forced into making.

"Now now Max, no one knits as fast as you. We have to make them all pretty." Jen scolded.

"Fuck you!" Max rebelled as Jen's eyes narrowed slightly, her grin twitched slightly. The atmosphere changed again, fear turned into pure terror as she began closing in on him. Max slowly began backing away, before his back landed right against the Mess Hall doors.

"Let's see what we can do about that attitude."

As if on cue, the doors burst open, causing Max to fall back and land at the feet of David and Gwen. Upon closer inspection of their campers, David didn't think too badly of it. But Gwen wasn't so easily fooled. She could sense the fear, she could see the pins, and stupid bedazzled knifes in a few of the tables that certainly wasn't there before. Gwen pushed Max behind them and crossed her arms. "Alright lady, time for you to go." Gwen said, her mother instincts over the campers kicking in.

"Excuse you?" Jen asked as she stood tall, crossing her arms. "Why should I leave? What have I done wrong?"

"It doesn't matter. Just know if you don't get your ass out in two seconds, I'm calling the cops." Gwen threatened, the two eyed each other off as Max ducked under them. He went straight to the other campers and freed them from their pinned holds, even going as far as to rip some of his creations. That clearly ticked off the crazy blonde. Jen broke eye contact to watch Max for a moment, and that was all Gwen needed. The second Jen looked back, the female's fist want instantly connected to her face. Jen didn't get knocked out, surprisingly. The blonde quickly grabbed out her knife and got into a defensive stance. Jen jumped at Gwen, and aimed her blade to go straight for the female's chest, but David quickly blocked the way, the knife going through his hand. David let out a high pitched scream as Gwen aimed another punch, this time knocking the blonde out.

After the kids were freed, Gwen bandaged up David's head while he sobbed. "You could have avoided this if you just listened to me." Max said as he rolled his eyes. Gwen just sighed as she watched the cops take an unconscious Jen out of the Mess Hall. "Next time you guys hire someone, why don't you do a fucking background check first?" He asked while walking away.

"I think we should be more careful with who we hire..." David commented and Gwen nodded.

"Yeah, that was a garbage fire." She said.

~Line Break~

The memory ended as Max shook his head. "At least we'll never see those two again." He said as David let out a nervous laugh.

"Of course..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "DANIEL!?"
> 
> "I'm here too." Another bright eyed, and bleach blonde female walked out.
> 
> "JEN?! What the actual HELL?!" Max cursed as David coughed awkwardly. "What did you do?!" Max demanded as he pointed to his guardian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, another chapter posted just because I love you all and I had quite a bit of free time today. I hope you all enjoy it! I also get pumped to write whenever I see "The Family That Slays Together" updated by AestheticAcoustic. That's probably one of my favorite fanfictions, so reading the update this morning made me instantly want to write as well.

Camp proceeded as normal the next day. Today's camp was apparently Extreme Sports Camp. Ered smirked as they were all on top of her ramp, each camper was going to attempt some sort of stunt. Well, every camper except for Max. Neil would have happily joined him if he wasn't easily persuaded by David. Neil just figured he would do it, and then it would be over with- almost like ripping off a band aid. "Don't fuck up and fall." Max taunted to the others, he wouldn't do it even if David had asked. He didn't have a death wish, the ramp was unstable as hell.

Ered went first, easily making it up to the other side of the ramp. She graced herself in the air with some over the top move that barely made sense. It was about a flip, but she pulled the skateboard from under her at the last minute so she could land on the other side of the ramp easily enough. Nikki felt her eyes widen in amazement. "Me next!" She chanted, pushing others out of her way, even going as far as to push Harrison off of the ramp entirely. Nikki skated down the ramp easily enough, on the other side, the female bit the end of the ramp and held herself up before landing. It was... a weird move.. Though Ered merely smirked at the girl.

"That was a pretty cool move Nikki." Ered complimented, only encouraging Nikki's weird obsession with the other female to skyrocket. After each camper went, it was a string of wins and loses. Nurf made it to the other side, though his trick was flipping his skateboard. Harrison did not make it to the other side, but he did manage to make it disappear. Nerris didn't make it up the other side either, the magic girl pretty much tumbled down the ramp. Space Kid made it, but he was laying on his stomach and pretending he was on a rocket ship. Dolph made it, but he didn't preform any trick. Though, just seeing him reach the other side was slightly interesting. Preston didn't make it, but definitely made an over-dramatic performance about his fall.

"Max, are you sure you don't want to participate?" David asked again.

"I'd rather die." Max said coldly, knowing he probably would die if he ever tried it out.

"That can be arranged!" A familiar voice called out as nine new faces showed up. The first that walked out are the Wood Scouts.

"You have something to say, Pikeman?" Max threatened as the teen shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't the one who said that." Pikeman said as the Flower Scouts came into view next.

"S-"

"Save it! We didn't say it either and we don't want anything from here either." Sasha said as she crossed her arms.

"Then who...?"

"I did!" A bright eyed and bleach blonde male walked into view.

"DANIEL!?"

"I'm here too." Another bright eyed, and bleach blonde female walked out.

"JEN?! What the actual HELL?!" Max cursed as David coughed awkwardly. "What did you do?!" Max demanded as he pointed to his guardian.

"W-Well, the court said it would be better if the two of them had a bit of a volunteer work. It would help them get a head start in being healthy." David explained.

"So your first thought is to have them come here? To surround these lunatic cultists with kids? Then you decide NOT to tell us?" He asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I swear I was going to tell you Max! I just didn't think they would be here so early..." David explained as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sort your argument out later, we came to return them to you." Pikeman said as he crossed his arms. Max rolled his eyes.

"Well we don't want them here." Max insulted, Pikeman shifted in his stance as his eyes scanned the other campers before they landed on Max.

"Listen, I did want to say... I'm sorry... for what happened the other day." Pikeman apologized.

"One, that's a shitty apology. And two, you can shove your shitty apology up your ass because we're not taking him back."

"That cultist is not the reason I'm apologizing!"

"Then-Wait. You could tell he was a cultist?" Max asked curiously.

"Of course we could! How could you not notice it? He wasn't doing a very good job at hiding it either." Pikeman explained, his eyes glancing over at Daniel as they enthusiastic male tried to hand Petrol a cup of rat poisoned juice. However the male simply slapped it out of his hand and it landed on the ground, making the grass it came in contact with die on the spot.

"Well, at least you all aren't as stupid as some people I know..." Max muttered and glanced at the Flower Scouts. "Were you all able to tell too?"

Tabii rolled her eye. "Of course we could! That freak just went on and on about making us pretty. You all need to take your shit back!" Tabii yelled as the two groups shoved Daniel and Jen towards them. David smiled as he approached them.

"It's good to have you both back!" David said happily as Neil glared from above the ramp.

"David, you have to be fucking kidding me!" He accused as Jen looked up at him, since he was the only camper who hadn't completed the ramp yet.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." She said in her usual relaxing tone, the female then tossed knives at the young camper. Neil screamed out in surprise as he quickly took off to get out of the way of danger, surprisingly enough he made it to the other side. Gwen crossed her arms as she glared at the two new recruits.

"Okay, first things first. No more weapons or poison. Hand them over." She held out her hands as Daniel got tense, but handed over a box of rat poison and his crooked knife. Jen rolled her eyes for a moment before she handed over the last of her bedazzled knives. Gwen looked at the contents in her arms and sighed softly. Today... was going to be a long day. "I'm... I'm going to go hide these." She explained as she trudged her way to the counselor's cabin.

The kids climbed down as David, Daniel, and Jen stood there with bright eyes and happy faces. "Kids, do you wanna-" Daniel started to say, but was officially cut off by Max.

"No."

Jen spoke up next. "What if we all-"

"Not a chance in hell."

David smiled as he crossed his arms. "I know! What if we all did one great big bonding activity. It's been a year since either of you have seen the campers. I'm sure you have trouble remembering faces."

"Not all." Daniel and Jen said simultaneously, their icy eyes landing straight on Max. The eleven year old cleared his throat.

"Yeah, um... I think Gwen needs help." Max said, he definitely did not feel comfortable around the two of them. However before he could get far, the hood from his hoodie was grabbed by David as he was lifted into the air. Max was limp with no fight as David smiled at his son.

"Now now Max. You got to skip out on extreme sports camp, but you're going to have to participate a little bit today." David explained as Max narrowed his eyes.

"How oblivious you are is starting to make me worried about you David." Max said as a bit of taunt, but David felt his eyes widen with a small gleam.

"You're worried about me? Max that's so nice! But you won't have to worry one bit. I can handle it." David said as he set Max on the ground easily enough. "Now everyone! Head to the lake!" He explained as the group of extremely uncomfortable campers trudged their way towards the water. Pikeman grabbed onto Max's sleeve to catch his attention for a moment.

"Max... I was serious when I said I was sorry. I didn't know. For what it's worth... if things start to go.." He glanced at Daniel and Jen. "..south... You can always come to the Wood Scouts."

"I'd rather take cultists over being a Wood Scout any day... but thanks..."Max said, the two sharing a small smile before Max smirked and kicked him in the shin. "See you later, you zit covered loser!" Pikeman screamed out in pain as he hopped on one foot and held the other one up.

"You'll pay for this! I won't rest until you answer to the Wood Scouts!" Pikeman called out as Max hurried off to catch up with his group.

~Line Break~

Daniel and Jen were about to follow the other campers towards the lake as prior instructed, but David put a hand on their shoulders to stop them both. He waited to make sure every camper was out of earshot before he cleared his throat. "The events that happened last year is something we can put behind us. I will NOT ,however, ignore the fact that both of you put Max in danger. If either of you touch a hair on my son's head, I'll make you wish you never thought of the name Camp Campbell." David threatened as he walked towards the lake without another word.

Usually when Jen or Daniel were threatened, they could handle themselves. However, a threat from someone like David... That rendered them speechless. The two hesitated slightly before walking towards the lake.

Everyone was there, talking and joking among themselves. Neil saw Daniel walk up and rolled his eyes. "How's Zemoog doing?" He asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Oh! Hello again Neil." Daniel said, ignoring the comment as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, earning a few cracks. Neil shook his head.

"Alright, fuck this. Max! Let's go back to the tent?" Neil offered as Max shook his head.

"Sorry, I gotta stay for this. That means you gotta stay too!" Max explained as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at Neil. Neil felt his eyes widen as he shook his head.

"Stay?! With these people?! Hell no!"

"Neil I will make you suffer if you leave me!" Neil sighed as he slouched slightly. "Don't be such a pussy." Max said, rolling his eyes. Neil sighed, clearly losing this argument since he did want to stay with his best friend in the camp.

David smiled as he placed his hands on his hips. "Alright campers, so we're going to go ahead and start up with introducing yourselves to our newest counselors!" Space Kid eagerly went first as he waved to the two.

"Howdy! I'm Neil! Named after-"

"Ah! Hell no! We've already decided last year I was Neil!" Neil yelled as Space Kid chuckled lightly.

"That's true. I'm Space Kid." Space Kid started with a goofy smile. The two new counselors glanced at David before smiling softly.

"Hey there camper!" Daniel said as Jen nodded.

"So nice to meet you." Jen said as Nikki jumped up and bit harshly onto Daniel's hand. Daniel let out a shriek much like David's as he held the female up in the air. One by one, each camper went through a brief introduction. Some even explained what camp they were here for. All until it lead onto Max. Max glanced over and saw the encouraging smile from David. Max simply rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hello there. My name is Max. I don't have a camp." He said in his most bored and monotone voice ever, his eyes clearly showed his lack of interest. David smiled and laughed softly.

"Max, silly. You do have a camp!"

"Fuck you and that shitty ass camp you chose! I'm not doing it!"

"But Max-"

"No!"

"But you're so good at it!"

"I don't care!"

David merely smiled and turned his attention back towards Jen and Daniel. "His camp is Knitting camp!" He expressed as Max angrily stormed towards him. David quickly caught onto his violent tendencies as he picked up Max by his sweater and held him out at arms length as Max swatted, punched, and kicked the air around him as a desperate way to hit David. David laughed awkwardly. "N-Now that introductions are over with, and we already did our camp for the day, who's ready for some smores?" He asked, knowing a small weakness for the equally small boy. Max calmed down slightly and shoved his hands in his pockets. Now that David was safe, he set Max down. However, Max smirked and stomped on David's foot, earning a high pitched scream.

"Dumbass!" Max yelled as the campers all ran towards the fire for some smores, Nikki even let go of her current pray to keep up with the others. Gwen walked back towards the other counselors. She looked at Daniel and Jen and sighed softly. "I wish I can take some vacation days." She muttered softly. She could really use them. However, she didn't trust David's judgement enough to leave the campers with the three of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel shifted as he sat on the porch right outside of the cabin. Right now, it wouldn't be too hard to just walk to each individual tent and ascend the campers. In fact, it would be child's play at this point. Usually he tried to have the campers drink on their own terms, even if they were brainwashed. However, forcing them wasn't too big of an issue for him. Right now though... Even though it's only been a few hours... was he already becoming attached?
> 
> That was a problem...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty everyone, here goes your update. I would have sent it off earlier but I got really tired. I have been running around all day lol. I can't believe college had made me so broke and so stressed already! But I hope you enjoy!

After the smores and the camp fire songs that was presented, it was time to go to bed. All the other campers said goodnight to one another before they began walking away. Max, however, was the only one who stayed behind for just a bit longer. Daniel leaned down and smiled at the young boy. "Isn't it about time to hit the hay?" Daniel asked as Max ignored the man. He looked up at David, who smiled brightly down at him.

"Good night Max." David said with a certain gentle tone, one he knew only to use when the two of them were alone or if Max was upset.

"Night." Max replied, walking off finally towards his tent. David knew that whether Max admitted it or not, the young boy enjoyed any time he could spend with him. Even if it was something as simple as staying a tad later to say goodnight. David smiled at the new counselor's easily.

"Well then! Time to go to bed!" David explained as the four of them began to walk towards the cabin they all resided in. "Are you staying up to watch more of your show Gwen?" David asked as the female shook her head.

"No, tonight I think I'm just going to head to bed." She explained, tired from today. They all had their casual conversations before going into their small rooms to head to sleep.

~Time Skip~

Daniel shifted as he sat on the porch right outside of the cabin. Right now, it wouldn't be too hard to just walk to each individual tent and ascend the campers. In fact, it would be child's play at this point. Usually he tried to have the campers drink on their own terms, even if they were brainwashed. However, forcing them wasn't too big of an issue for him. Right now though... Even though it's only been a few hours... was he already becoming attached?

That was a problem...

He stared at the bite mark on his hand silently. "They let you just wander around at night? Well, that's fucking stupid." A voice called out. Daniel looked up and saw Max casually strolling up. Daniel smiled softly as he gazed down at the small boy.

"I could say the same thing to you young man! Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Daniel asked as Max walked past him.

"It's none of your business so fuck off." Max said as Daniel quickly stood up just to block his way.

"Well, if there's nothing wrong then you should head back to your tent."Daniel said as Max's eyes narrowed.

"How about you get out of my way before I make you regret it cult man." Max insulted, as he looked past the door. "I just came here to talk to David, not you."

"What could you possibly need this late at night? Why don't you tell me?" Daniel offered.

"Yeah, no. You know what? Never mind..." Max muttered, the conversation becoming too complex for him to even bother to keep up with. Max just turned around and walked away. Daniel hesitated slightly. Maybe he shouldn't have stopped him. Obviously the kid wouldn't talk to him yet, after all, he did try to kill him... Daniel sighed softly. Hopefully it wasn't too bad.

~Time Skip~

The next day came around, and it was pretty obvious to tell that Max was exhausted. Usually the kid had bags under his eyes, but now he just looked plain terrible. Daniel didn't know why he felt slightly guilty, but he ignored the feeling as he ate breakfast with the other campers. Gwen walked by Max and handed him a cup with steaming black coffee inside before she patted his head gently and walked back to their table. David was quick to tell the difference in Max, he knew that Max didn't sleep too well most nights. Usually they just watched movies on the television inside of the cabin, and David was waiting for him. Max never showed up. Usually that meant he slept well, but it was clear as day that he didn't. Maybe something else happened...

David sat beside Max, who was sitting by himself at the moment, and cleared his throat softly. The only reason Max was sitting by himself was because he told his two best friends that he needed some time away from their annoying asses. Which was Max talk for he needed some alone time. Everyone has been around Max long enough to understand the harsh comments he said was not usually what he meant. "Max, how did you sleep?" The elder asked.

"Like shit, what else is new?"

"Well, I was just asking because you didn't come by tonight." David said with a soft smile, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

"Jesus David! Just because I don't stop by every night doesn't mean something happened." Max said defensively, David just chuckled softly.

"I know I know. I just want to make sure everything's alright Max. I worry about you." Max's expression was unreadable as he visibly relaxed.

"I know." Was his only reply as David patted his shoulder gently.

"You can come talk to me whenever you're ready. I'll always be open to talk to you Max." David expressed as he stood up and began to greet the other camper. Max stared at his beverage for a moment before he slowly began to sip it and went to go join Neil and Nikki. Daniel watched closely. Why didn't Max say he was the one who stopped him? Why didn't Max rat him out for being out at night?...

~Time Skip~

Today's camp was centered around Preston. God have mercy... "Places people! We're going to begin to practice your lines! I SAID PLACES DAMMIT!" Max just rolled his eyes as he stood off to the side. Last year he was the wizard or something, he wasn't paying too much attention since he was focused on ruining David's social life. Max watched as Daniel made his way towards him, Max just sighed softly.

"What do you want? Max said, his voice completely bored with this already.

"I...I want to know why you didn't tell David that I was what kept you from him last night." Daniel said, cursing his small waver. He was usually so steady with his voice. However, this time... something was off. Why was he nervous with this kid? Why was Max the one Daniel was getting the most attached to when Max helped ruined his life?!

"What? You were listening in our conversation? That's fucked up Daniel." Max said as he glared at him. "But if you have to know, I didn't say anything because David seems to trust you guys. I sure as hell don't. In fact, it would be better if you just left... But David trusts you and Jen, so that means you've earned a bit of slack." Max explained with a shrug. Daniel watched him closely.

"I almost killed you and your friends."

"Have you seen this camp? We almost die here every fucking day."

"Why are you so quick to trust me?"

"I don't, dumbass. David does."

"Why do you trust him so much?"

"Because I do. Now if you're so fucking desperate, I can go tell David you are the reason I didn't go in last night." Max threatened and Daniel hesitated. He sighed softly and nodded before walking off. Even though his answer made sense, it didn't! Even though Max said he was off the hook, Daniel knew he was still being watched closely by Max and David. Daniel knew the right thing to do was to ascend the children, but he didn't want any of these kids to go just yet... He... He had a lot of processing to do.

~Time Skip~

It seemed that the same emotions that were filling Daniel was the same with Jen. The female found herself attracted to Ered. The child was cool and chill, obviously the only one with more of a fashion sense then the others. However, Max hated knitting and Jen was sure she couldn't force him to like last time with David breathing down her neck. But the two had made time pass as Jen brought her magazine and her and the child began to trash talk the people inside.

Jen tensed slightly as she looked around, someone was watching her and Ered? Obviously David but it wasn't him this time. The female looked around before she caught a pair of bright eyes. Max? What could he possibly want? The female shrugged slightly, deciding he wasn't a threat as she focused on Ered again.

A bit later on, when her and Ered had split up, she found herself standing in front of Max. "Don't get any funny ideas. I'm watching you and your little cult friend." Max threatened, but Jen just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I noticed. But why? I thought you didn't care."

"I don't. It would just be a pain in my ass if I had to go around, knitting endless stupid fucking sweaters or drinking rat poisoned juice." Max shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Really? I wouldn't make you knit endless sweaters. You have to include the hats, scarfs, gloves-"

"God damn, alright! I get it. You like it when I fucking knit." Max cursed as he walked away. He already told her to watch out, so he didn't need to stay in a conversation with her for much longer. Jen smiled softly as the camper walked away easily. While Ered was definitely her favorite, Max was also up there too. There was something about the kid, something that reminded her of herself. She just turned and went back towards the campers as they continued on with their activities.

~Time Skip~

It was about night time now, David was curled up on the couch as Max casually sat at the other end. David wasn't oblivious when it came to Max. Something was bothering him, he looked so tired. It was a good thing he stopped by tonight, maybe he could help the boy get some sleep or maybe even listen to his problems. David was about to speak up, but it seemed the boy had beat him to it. "It was just nightmares, nothing special. So you can stop looking at me." Max said, rather rudely as he never took his eyes off the television.

"Nightmares?" David asked as he sat up a bit. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just said they were nothing special." Max replied.

"Well... do you want to talk about them?" Max sat silently, almost as if he was honestly weighing his options. It was like that for awhile. Max was quietly sitting there before a soft sigh came out.

"It... it really wasn't anything special, like I told you. It was just about my parents." Max explained as David shifted so he was sitting next to his son. David had only heard small things about his parents. In fact, Max's parents dropped him off at the orphanage just two days after camp last year and no one had even looked in the boy's direction since. Mostly because adults didn't want a bad mouthing, rebellious, ten year old running around their house.

"What happened in the dream?" David questioned further, Max was still staring straight at the television. This time, he wasn't gifted with an answer. David decided the look on max's face was enough. Even though Max didn't move, and no tears were falling, the adult could tell that Max was dying on the inside. His eyes looked pained and just...so tired. It broke David's heart in two. He slowly wrapped a blanket for the both of them to share as David laid down behind Max, moving Max to lay down in front of them. If Max couldn't bring himself to talk about the nightmares, maybe David could help keep them away?

So they laid, just like that on the couch. David pushed back with Max laying down in front of him. It was a bit surprising that Max didn't fight or curse about it, he was just a bit tense. That slowly went away, however, before the two of them almost immediately fell asleep. It was probably the best rest the two had in awhile, with Max's nightmares and David's ridiculous enthusiasm for the camp.

Gwen had come out just for a glass of water as she saw the two. She immediately took a photo, knowing David would defiantly thank her for this, before she turned off the T.V. and went back to bed.

~Time Skip~

David shifted in the couch before slowly getting up. His back was killing him... He looked forward to see Max was gone, which confused David slightly. If the kid was exhausted, then he would definitely be asleep for a bit longer. Though Max was gone either way. David shrugged slightly as he sat up, screaming in pain as something pointed stabbed his leg. "OW! W-what the...?" David moved the blanket and scratched his head in confusion.

A sharpened candy cane?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno, I just want to move this a bit slowly. So here we can see David and Jen develop a little bit. Do you all like it? Yes? No? I would love to hear opinions. I hope you all enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “David, have you seen Max?” Nikki asked, her face full off…. Whatever the QM seemed to cook up today. David knew he would eat it regardless; Gwen and Max however usually did not. 
> 
> “I haven’t seen him since last night. Why?” David asked as he could feel himself start to get worried. He didn’t show, since he would try to keep calm in front of the children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am alive. I am so so sorry for this extremely late update! I would have posted this weekend as usual, however, I had to go to a drill for the National Guard. So on certain weekends I won't be able to give you the update you all deserve. When I came back I had a mountain of college work to catch back up on as well. It was a bit of bullshit to be honest, since I have a five day drill the week after next. So I will try to post ahead of time from now on.

David shrugged off the unusually sharpened piece of candy. He would have to watch from now on to make sure no one was actually making knives from food. Max probably was off already, eating or getting into some mischief. David got up as he put away the blanket and got ready for the day. It was pretty interesting; Max seemed to help him while it was supposed to be the other way around. So, hopefully, Max was able to get some rest too. 

When David went down to the Mess Hall, his first thought was centered on the fact that his son wasn’t there. David hummed in thought as he greeted each camper. It was a bit different for each one, sometimes he received random birds flying in his face from Harrison’s trick, maybe some dice from Nerris, definitely some knives came his way from Nurf, and so on and so forth. When he reached Nikki and Neil, the man smiled brightly. “Good Moring!” He said happily as Neil looked around a bit awkwardly. 

“David, have you seen Max?” Nikki asked, her face full off…. Whatever the QM seemed to cook up today. David knew he would eat it regardless; Gwen and Max however usually did not. 

“I haven’t seen him since last night. Why?” David asked as he could feel himself start to get worried. He didn’t show, since he would try to keep calm in front of the children. 

“Oh! We were supposed to meet up this morning so that we could hot wire your car and go into town.” Nikki spilled the beans easily as Neil slapped his forehead. 

“Nikki!” David gasped. 

“Nikki! Neil! I am very disappointed in you.” He scolded as he crossed his arms. Even though he was trying to pay attention to Nikki and Neil at the moment, David couldn’t help but to wonder where Max had went. He should probably look for him now. David had assembled the other three counselors and pulled the off into a corner for a secret huddle. 

“Max seems to be up to no good right now.” David explained as Daniel and Jen smiled. 

“You and Gwen can go look and we’ll stay with the kids.” Jen offered, which immediately caused Gwen to roll her eyes. 

“Hell no. David, you and Daniel go look for him. Jen and I can hold it together here.” Gwen said as Jen and Daniel didn’t stop from showing at how they were displeased at their plans of being with the kids and failed. David smiled and nodded. 

“Alright then! This shouldn’t be too long.” David explained as he dragged the blonde male out with him. They had checked all of Max’s usual spots, including his tent. They seemed to check everywhere inside the camp and outside, looking for any possible hiding spots that could hide the eleven year old. With each passing minute, David felt his anxiety skyrocket. Where was Max?!

“Where was the last place you saw him?” Daniel asked as David forced a smile. 

“That was last night! He fell asleep inside of our cabin.” David explained as Daniel nodded, heading towards their sleeping area. When they went inside, Daniel began looking around. It was almost like he was checking a crime scene. However, it was hard to place what happened. Sure there were leaves here and there, but they were in the woods already! This was going to take a while… 

~Time Skip~

Max was currently tied up to a chair; his cheek was red and slightly swollen from how much he was getting slapped. It pissed him off. 

“Welcome back Maxwell.” Pikeman said with a wide smirk. 

“Jesus Christ! Are we seriously doing this again?” Max asked as he struggled against his binds. 

“Stop complaining and go tackle the ropes course again.” Pikeman yelled as Max rolled his eyes. 

“Never!” He yelled as he was able to free himself. He let the rope slide off of him as he jumped out of the chair and ran past him. 

“Get him!!” Pikeman yelled as the Wood Scouts were hot on his trail. 

That’s exactly what happened that lead up to being lost in the woods. Max sighed and shook his head. Stupid fucking Pikeman taking him again, stupid fucking woods, stupid fucking David (because why not blame him too), stupid fucking camp!!! Max was seething with anger as he walked around the area. Most would have been scared; Max was able to rationalize everything out. The only thing that made him shudder was the moans coming from Spooky Island. Max shook his head from the memory. 

A good few hours has passed before Max heard a rustling in the bush. The male narrowed his eyes and went straight for it. As he went towards the bush, a certain red head jumped out and picked up Max faster than the speed of light. 

“OhmygodMaxIwassoworried!!!” David cried as he held the boy tight. Max rolled his eyes just let the man get it out of his system. 

“Yeah, well this would have never happened if you weren’t such a heavy sleeper David! Seriously, how the fuck was I kidnapped when you were RIGHT. FUCKING. THERE.” Max yelled and David hugged him tighter. 

“Kidnapped by who?” 

“The Wood Scouts dumbass, why else would I be on this side of the lake?” Max rolled his eyes as David smiled slightly.

“It looks like you almost completely walk around Max. While Daniel and Jen were looking into what happened, I was searching the woods. Come on, Camp isn’t too far away.” David said as he put Max down. Max was surprised to hear that, no wonder he was closer now since he was walking for hours. What they didn’t expect was the surprise on the way back.   
Most of the campers were standing uncomfortable on the side lines as the Wood Scouts and the Flower Scouts were tied up and lying on the ground. 

“The fuck?” Max said as Jen and Daniel came into view, smiling widely. 

“Max! It was the Wood Scouts who took you right?” Daniel asked. 

“The Flower Scouts aren’t too kind either right?” Jen asked as David hesitated slightly. 

“W-Where’s Gwen?” David asked as Jen pulled out one of her confiscated bedazzled knives and pointed towards the flag pole. There, Gwen was tied up and an IPad was stuck right in her face within the ropes. 

“STAB THE BITCH!” She yelled, ignoring the situation at hand. Jen tossed her knife as it landed right in front of one of the flower scouts. 

“Which do you want us to help first Max.” Jen asked as Max narrowed his eyes. 

“You all have your freaky cult shit back. So why didn’t you take out any of us yet?” Max asked as Daniel and Jen shifted uncomfortably. 

“To be honest, we do want the best for you campers. We want you all to ascend and be truly happy.” Daniel explained as Jen smiled. 

“We are going to be a bit selfish though. We don’t want any of you to leave yet.” Jen explained as he picked up Tabii by her ropes. “They, however, mean nothing to us.” She explained as she waved her knife in Tabii’s face. 

“You better get your hella gross knife out of my face!” Tabii threatened as Jen rolled her eyes. 

“Your fashion sense is slightly lacking.” She insulted back as the Flower Scouts gasped. 

“THE FUCK?!” The three screamed in unison as they began struggling against the ropes. Max sighed as he walked forward. 

Max smirked as he crossed his arms and walked in front of Pikeman. “It looks like the tables have turned Pikeman.” The teen just narrowed his eyes at the child.   
“As if I would ever join your poor excuse for a camp.” 

“Fuck that. We don’t want you to join our camp. But I think some friendly revenge is in order.” Max smirked as he chuckled evilly, walking slowly towards his tormentor. This was going to be fun-

“Max! You know that isn’t the right answer.” David called from behind him; careful for hoe he approached this situation. This was trending on extremely thin ice. The cultists rolled their eyes as Daniel smirked at Max. 

“I’ll let you choose who goes first.” He offered as he waved his crooked knife at the three of the Wood Scouts. Max looked at the three of them, it was obvious they were scared. 

And Max completely loved every second of this since they just wasted his day. The male stopped in his tracks and sighed softly; pushing his hands pockets and looked at Daniel. “I choose….” He started as he walked to Petrol. He quickly untied him and chaos broke loose. In a matter of seconds, the surprisingly strong kid took out the two cultists and the six scouts were untied. David smiled down at Max. 

“I’m proud of you.” David told him excitedly as Max rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever. But you owe me.” He said as Daniel and Jen slowly got up. Gwen was untied by the other campers. A tired expression was on her face as she confiscated the poison and knives once again. 

“I don’t get paid enough for this.” She muttered before walking away. Max couldn’t help but notice a pair of eyes on him. He froze and glared at the creepy version of David. 

“The fuck do you want?!” He questioned and Daniel smiled widely. 

“I think of you as if you were my own son Max!”  
.

…

….

Max was completely frozen and David was beside him in a second. He held the young boy up and tightly in his arms, aiming him away from Daniel. 

It seemed David was not sharing Max anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter then my others, so I'll try to post another tomorrow, alright? Love you all! Bye


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Howdy there Max!" Daniel called as Max groaned. The fuck was up with this cultist? All Daniel ever did nowadays was follow him around.
> 
> "The fuck do you want Daniel?" Max said, he was clearly pissed and not in the mood to deal with this man. "Shouldn't you be busy doing literally anything else? Are you even fucking allowed back here without David or Gwen?" Max asked as he raised an eyebrow. Daniel chuckled softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, he's a short chapter dedicated to Daniel's redemption. It is shorter then others, but I have great news. I'm going to try to update every day until October first, like I did before for the weekend. Like I said, I'll try (no promises).

Somehow Preston's camp ended up going again today. Apparently it was David's way of apologizing about how Max ruined the last one last year. Well, it was said as an apology. But really it was Preston demanded to have an extra day or else he would make sure his granny would sue the already sinking camp. So today was a rehearsal for a new play that Max honestly wasn't paying attention to. Thank God Preston seemed to have some sense and didn't give Max a part. He was more than happy helping backstage.

"You've got to sell it to me Space Kid!" Preston criticized as Space Kid tried his line again. "I said FUCKING SELL IT TO ME!" Max rolled his eyes as he wandered around back stage.

"Howdy there Max!" Daniel called as Max groaned. The fuck was up with this cultist? All Daniel ever did nowadays was follow him around.

"The fuck do you want Daniel?" Max said, he was clearly pissed and not in the mood to deal with this man. "Shouldn't you be busy doing literally anything else? Are you even fucking allowed back here without David or Gwen?" Max asked as he raised an eyebrow. Daniel chuckled softly.

"No worries at all. Gwen took all of my items, though technically that wouldn't stop me from physically harming you all…" Daniel thought allowed quietly as Max felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh…right. Well, I'm leaving now." Max mumbled while rolling his eyes. He turned his back and began walking away. That caused the male to grab the child by hood and held him up that way. Max narrowed his eyes. Damn him…. "WHAT. THE FUCK. DO. YOU. WANT?!" Max yelled, getting irritated quickly.

"I just wanted to give you a gift." Daniel said as he gently put Max on the ground and handed him a sweater. It exactly matched Max's current one, but it was white. The hood and the pocket where Max would put his hands was a light gray. Max held up the sweater, his ace unreadable. Usually, this would be a sweet gesture.

This was completely the opposite for Max.

He dropped the hoodie on the ground, before turning around. "Fuck you." Max muttered before walking away.

Max walked away from the rehearsal, walked away from him campers and went inside of his tent. There, he made himself a cup of coffee. David tried to make him quit, but that wasn't exactly working.

Max looked at his own sweater and gently traced the fabric. Of course he got pissed at Daniel, though he was positive the male would never understand why he got so angry in the first place. Last year in camp, it was no rare sight to see the parents send their children something. For Max, every single time it was a replica hoodie. Others would think it would be an alright gift, but Max knew it was a taunt. Basically a reminder to keep it on as a way to hide all the fucked up abuse he put up with in that household.

Max still wore it though, even if he was with David. He was pretty sure David never really saw him wearing a regular shirt. Max would though when everything was healed up properly. Even though Max didn't give a shit about anything, he didn't need David asking him questions he didn't want to answer. And he didn't need David to have a heart attack by the sight of him. So Max was waiting it out.

Daniel giving Max a that hoodie was truly a good deed, but it just infuriated the eleven year old to no end.

Before Max knew it, his coffee was finished and he felt completely relaxed. The boy let out a sigh as he felt himself relax now. It was nice just taking a moment to be by himself. Not that he would ever admit it openly, but David taught him that within one of his first nights of adopting him. Max stood up and shoved his hands inside of his pockets when he went back out. David came over and crossed his arms.

"Max, where have you been? I was starting to get worried." David said as he squatted down to the boy's height. "What if someone tried to take you again?"

"I doubt Pikeman would try again, that literally just happened. Besides, I'm pretty sure our two newest counselors have scared the shit out if them." Max explained as he shrugged easily. David smiled slightly before he patted Max's head gently.

"Well, alright." He decided as he stood up fully. "We should get back to theater camp! What role do you have again?"

"The best role of all. I get to sit behind stage and not do shit." Max concluded as David's eyes got wide and bright.

"You're going to be a stage manager!?"

"W-What? No!" That didn't stop David from prancing ahead anyways to Preston.

"Preston! What jobs should Max be doing as stage manager?" David asked as Preston raised an eyebrow.

"Stage manager?" He looked at Max, who just shrugged with a bored expression and Preston rolled his eyes. "Right… Well, he basically just.. um… makes sure everything is going in order?" Preston thought of a job on the spot as David turned to Max, instantly emotional. David began fanning his eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Sorry, I'm just so proud." David said as Max let out a sigh. This was starting to become a stressful day.

Max and Preston managed to roll their eyes at the same time as Max shoved his hands inside of his pockets before he went back stage. "Hey!" Preston called. The two made eye contact before Preston made a V with his fingers. Max was confused before Preston pointed it at his own eyes, before Max's. "I'm watching you." Preston threatened, not wanting another play to go up in shit.

Max's only reply was the middle finger.

When Max turned around, he bumped straight into Daniel. "Oh my FUCKING GOD Daniel!" Max blew up as he clenched his fists tightly. "Holy hell, the fuck do you want? Can't you leave me alone for five fucking minutes?" Daniel wasn't affected by the strong language as he held the sweater out to Max.

"I want you to have this." He persisted as Max glared at the sweater.

"If I take this, will you leave me the fuck alone?"

"Of course!" Daniel said happily as Max snatched the sweater from him, grumbling under his breath. Daniel knew he should have felt accomplished, but at the same time he wondered why Max had to always be such a handful sometimes... Maybe...

~Line Break~

Daniel approached David, a bright smile on his face. "David! May I ask you a question?" David smiled brightly and turned away from the campers, taking a few steps to meet Daniel half way.

"Of course! What's on your mind co-counselor?" David asked as Daniel's smile got wide.

"I was wondering. Have you noticed Max has been acting a bit strange? Almost like he's unhappy?" David laughed uncomfortably.

"I'm pretty sure that's Max's usual attitude." David explained.

"Wouldn't you like to fix that?" Daniel offered.

The environment went still, it was as if nothing was moving at all. Nothing suddenly mattered except for this conversation. A chill in the air? The atmosphere so thick that you couldn't cut it with the sharpest knife. A pit grew in David's stomach as he nervously replied. "I'm not sure what you're asking Daniel."

"Don't you want Max to be happy?"

"Of course I do!"

"I can make him like that for you." Daniel offered, his bright blue eyes narrowed dangerously. He could have Max as a perfect child! David's face was unreadable, before instantly the sudden change was shifted back to awful acting in front of the stage.

"Let me show you something." David offered. Daniel frowned and rolled his eyes as they went to watch the children act. Along with Nerris currently throwing her charms around, Nurf punching Space Kid's helmet, Preston ripping apart his script in anger, Neil was hiding as Nikki tossed mud everywhere, Harrison was showing how he could make the large props disappear, Dolph was painting the set, Ered was standing off to the side as she relaxed with Jen, and then there came Max. He had his usual smirk on his face as he made his own magic happen. In a matter of seconds the entire stage was ruined with a small section was on fire. "Do you think they're happy?" David asked as Daniel hesitated.

"Right now they might be, but it won't last."

"Nothing lasts, nothing truly is certain. What we can do is try to show them how to have fun. You're answer to making them happy isn't making them truly happy. They loose the ability to show their true colors. The happiness you try to bring is only black and white. You have to show them true happiness with their own eyes and colors." David explained as Daniel looked at the children a second time. They were sitting there for a good moment before Daniel looked down.

"I...I think I understand."

David smiled and patted his back gently. "Another thing. If you don't stop trying to steal my son from me, we're going to have a major problem. Think of this as your warning." David explained, he then stood up and quickly went to go handle the situation.

Daniel watched them from afar. He looked down for a moment before smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT:::
> 
> IMPORTANT:::
> 
> IMPORTANT:::
> 
> ```````````````````````````Vote!`````````````````````````````
> 
> -Who wants Jasper to come back as a counselor? Just say if you want it or not in the comments and I'll take the majority vote!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey again!" The blonde greeted as Max rolled his eyes.
> 
> "Dammit. Not you again." Max rolled his eyes as the boy chuckled softly.
> 
> "So you remember me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is EXTREMELY short. So most wanted to see Jasper as a ghost, and not as a counselor. I did what I could since many people also did not want to see Jasper at all. So his encounters from here on out will be brief. Since I did see one person ask for a Max possession sort of story, I will do a chapter, which will basically be like an alternate ending to this chapter, where Jasper possess Max. The next chapter is going to be a brick to the face with feels so buckle up.

Today had started off like any other day at Camp Campbell. It was Neil's camp today as the campers began to mix chemicals. For this day, it was decided they would trust Neil with the basics of the experiment, since all the sorry excuses for counselors admitted they were not super amazing at Science.

Of course Max wasn't interested in Science at all, since he got a small dosage of nerd from Neil every fucking day, so he was currently skipping. It didn't take long of him wandering the woods before he was met up with the small boy once again from last year.

"Hey again!" The blonde greeted as Max rolled his eyes.

"Dammit. Not you again." Max rolled his eyes as the boy chuckled softly.

"So you remember me?"

"It's kind of hard to forget that day in general." Both children shuddered as Max narrowed his eyes at him. "But the fuck do you want?" Max asked as Jasper chuckled softly.

"Nothing, I was just going to ask you a question home skillet." Jasper said, Max remained quiet as he waited for the question. "W-Well... I've been hearing around that Davey is still at Camp?" Max raised his eyebrow.

"Davey?" He said softly before he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, David should be there." Max replied with a shrug. Jasper smiled widely.

"Really? Thanks!" He said as Max shrugged.

"Yeah, well I'm trying to skip out on an activity. So I'll catch you later." Max said, with him moving away from the weird kid.

"Totally tubular! I'll catch you on the flip side." Jasper said, eventually disappearing. Though this went unseen yet again by Max.

~Line Break~

It was late in the night; David was lying awake in his bed. A sleeping Max by his side along with his wood made from a pine tree (it helped him sleep), it seemed that the night was going pretty well despite the odd mix up with their morning. Max had ended up skipping the activity, by the time David noticed he left the campers to the other counselors and began desperately looking for the boy. It took about an hour but he was able to find his escape artist.

Besides the heart attack from feeling like Max had gotten kidnapped again, it was easily replaced by relief and David wasn't mad at all. He just had Max come back to the camp. Today had been pretty uneventful though David cherished every moment he had with his campers and his son.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dim light coming in from the living room. Curiosity had gotten the best of him as he slowly got up, careful not to wake Max as he went to go find the source of the glow. Maybe the television turned back on… by itself... which actually happened more times than David was comfortable to admit.

When David finally got into the living room, he completely froze in his tracks.

"Jasper?" The blonde haired 10-year-old looked up at the older man and smiled widely.

"Wow Davey! You certainly grew up!" Jasper said, floating up to look around the adult male. David was completely still before he tensely walked towards the chair. He sat down and laid his forehead on one of his hands. This was a lot to process.

"Jasper, how… why... what happened to you?" Jasper let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Well, that's not a story worth sharing home skillet." Jasper stated, clearly not comfortable with this conversation. So David happily asked him a different question.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Nope! You're completely awake!" Jasper agreed, as David looked at his forearm for a moment before he pinched it roughly. He let out a surprisingly loud yelp (that sounded entirely girlish), as he shook his head. Wow… this was really happening.

"Davey, I can't stay for much longer." Jasper sounded, did he seem to be fading slightly.

"Jasper, if you really did die... why didn't you move on to… some sort of other side? Or disappear I guess?" David asked as Jasper smiled.

"Ah shucks Davey, that's one way to rip off the band aide. Well, to be honest I don't know. I've just never really been able to leave this place. But now... I think it's because I was meant to watch over this place. Be some sort of… Guardian Angel for this awful place?" Jasper said, almost completely gone now. David stood up in alarm.

"Wait! Jasper, when will I see you again?" David asked desperately.

"Don't worry Davey! I'll always be around!" Jasper said before completely leaving. David was at a loss for words.

"Holy shit, he was actually a ghost." Max said, an unsurprised, even bored, look was on his face as David jumped up in surprise.

"Wh-what? You've seen Jasper before?" David asked curiously as Max shrugged.

"It was last year when me, Nikki, and Neil found the Quartermaster doing unspeakable things with other people who looked old as shit." Max said and shook his head at the image. David honestly didn't know how to approach that issue as he picked Max up (receiving a glare from the younger) and went back towards the bed.

"I…uh... I see? Well, we'll discuss that situation later. Jasper was a camper at Camp Campbell when I was a camper." David explained as he laid him down. Max moved to the far side of the bed and looked up at him.

"What? Were you gay for him or something?" David chuckled softly.

"We were about your age at that time Max, so there's no way I even had the concept of love back then." David said. David was in a similar boat as Max when he was younger, so it was impulse to want to help Max so much. "But that's enough questions for tonight bud. Go ahead and get some sleep." David said with a smile. Max grumbled, but fell asleep quite easily after that.

David laid down for a moment and thought of his extremely brief encounter with his childhood best friend. He laid down beside Max and hugged his pine tightly.

Surprisingly, David went to bed right after Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! I making another story. It will be a teenage Max x teenage Preston story! I can't stop wanting them together.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David knew who they were, how could he not? They were spitting images of Max! But… why?
> 
> "We're here to pick up our son."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here goes another chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. I wanted to send this out before I left for another fun filled weekend of Drill.

Today's camp was centered around Nikki. The group spent the entire time hiking around the woods. At least, that was the plan until they all got chased by multiple kinds of animals. Some of which didn't even look like they were normal animals. To be honest, who knew what was going on in these woods. When they all got back, they were ready for a treat of smores and campfire stories.

It was basically a treat for no one running away or getting any serious injuries. The group had been sitting on logs, surrounding the fire as they pushed their long sticks into it, hoping to heat up their marshmallows to a perfect amount.

It was weird how everyone was different. Nikki burned hers to a crisp, while Neil barely let his turn a golden brown. Max's marshmallow preference was a bit closer to Nikki's. He literally set it on fire and blew it out when he deemed worthy.

"So, who wants to tell the first story?" Jen asked as she crossed her arms. The campers looked at each other as Daniel smiled.

"How about you Max?" He chose a volunteer.

"Hell no."

"Alright then… how about-"

"I'll do one!" Nikki said happily as she bit her marshmallow off of her stick and ate it quickly. A flashlight was tossed to her as she turned it on, aiming it to shine up towards her face. "It all started when-"

A loud truck was driving in the distance. All campers were frozen, some cringing at the awful sounds of the truck. It seemed someone did something to the muffler because it was way too loud. As the truck pulled up, it looked like it was straight from a horror film.

The truck had stains from God knows where all over it, a dusty windshield made it impossible to see who was on the inside (how did they even know where they were going), multiple broken parts were scattered on the truck. It was obvious that the truck was a piece of shit.

The most obvious thing, however, was the look on Max's face. It seemed that the color left his face, he was pale and completely frozen. That was what made David feel his stomach drop.

What was going on?

David turned towards the other three counselors. "Go take the kids and put them in the Mess Hall. I'll see what's going on." David said, the other three nodded. Daniel wanted to stick by his side and see what was going on as well, but he supposed it would be better if they moved the kids away from the strangers immediately. And if something happened, Daniel, Jen, and Gwen were the best bets with fighting off whatever needed be. So the three of them ushered them off, all of them being surprisingly cooperative as well.

David waited until the campers were gone to approach the truck. "Good evening?" He greeted, walking closer as the doors opened. His nose cringed at the awful smell as multiple cans fell out of the truck with the passengers.

That wasn't a good sign at all.

The two that stepped out looked like some sort of drug dealers. The man was wearing a white shirt that seemed a size too small, but that didn't matter as mystery stains covered him as well. His tan skin and curly hair seemed unkept as he scratched at the stumble on his face. He was wearing gray sweatpants and brown eyes that looked red. The female was in a much similar state, though it seemed she at least made some sort of an effort to look nice. Her long curly hair was pulled up into a weak bun that seemed could fall out at any given moment. Her bright teal eyes were narrowed as she had make up sloppily applied. She was wearing a black sweater along with blue jeans. Thankfully she didn't seem to have any stains on her clothes.

"You sure we left 'em here?" The male asked, a confused look was on his face. "Place looks like shit." The female just laughed softly and crossed her arms.

"I dunno, you're the one who drove us here." She said, David uncomfortably cleared his throat as the two looked at him. David knew who they were, how could he not? They were spitting images of Max! But… why?

"We're here to pick up our son." The lady stated in a none to friendly way. In fact, she didn't trust him at all (which wasn't a problem to David).

"I'm guessing you're Max's parents?" David guessed as he cleared his throat. With his nerves calmed down, it was only replaced by anger. It was clear that they didn't care about Max at all. So why come back now? He was happy, or… David hoped. They dropped him off at the orphanage.

"Yea... now go get our son. We don't got all the time in the fucking world." The male said, getting irritated by the red haired male quickly. David narrowed his eyes.

"No. Both of you need to leave, right now." He said, his voice lost its usual prep as he glared right back at them. The anger burning in his chest, he felt as though he was going to explode.

"You can't keep us from our kid!" The lady yelled.

"Yes I can! He's not your kid anymore, he's mine! You two were the ones who dropped him off at the orphanage." David yelled right back, confused as hell as the parents gave him blank stares. Soon enough, the two of them were laughing as though the situation wasn't serious at all. David only felt his anger grow more. They weren't in the right mind set at all. Along with drinking, who knew what else these two happened to get their high off of.

"Did we do that?" The wife asked as the male laughed harder.

"I don't fucking know!"

Before he knew what happened next, David saw red as his fist connected with the other male's face, sending him flying back. While David held his ground, he ignored how much his fist hurt after that. The laughing stopped suddenly as red eyes glared at him.

"Why are you two laughing? You're his parents and you hurt him! You did God only knows what, but he's constantly hurting on the inside and it's your fault! Why would you do that! He's just a kid!"

The male stood up, and staggered slightly before he tackled David.

"Because we can do whatever the hell we want. That kid ruined our lives."

Thus started up another fight, that David seemed to be losing. While he was sending in some good hits, it didn't measure up to the beating he was getting from Max's father.

"Stop it!" David heart dropped as he looked behind him to see Max standing there. He looked terrified, but David was sure they both were right now. What was Max doing out here? They were supposed to watch the campers!

"Max-"

"Shut up David." Max said as he glared down at the counselor, but his eyes weren't filled with hate. They were filled with tears, and it broke David's heart to pieces.

"Fucking finally." Max's father got up, ignoring David as he went to approach Max, who was standing surprisingly still. David groaned, everything hurt so bad…but… seeing that man approach Max like that… The look in his eyes… the way Max was shaking slightly in fear, it pushed David over the edge. He grabbed the man's pant leg as he shakily got up to a kneel.

"You…. You stay…a-away from him…" David said while panting, the male glared down at David.

"Who's going to stop me?" He mumbled as he reached out and drabbed Max by his upper arm and held him up, the child let out a soft noise of surprise as he dangled in the air. It was only a moment, but in the next second Max was on the ground. All the air left his lungs and it felt as though he couldn't breathe properly. His back and necked ached as he struggled to sit up. That was the effects of getting slammed in the ground. David was over him in an instant as Max saw David's face was covered in bruises and small cuts.

"You…You look like shit." Max struggled out as David shushed him.

"Get your breath back Max, what are you even doing out here?" David said, tears welling up in his eyes as Max's father approached them.

"Will you hurry the hell up?" The female criticized as the man rolled his eyes.

"I should beat the hell outta both of you." He muttered, but as he took his next step a rock collided with the side of his face. He stared down at the rock in confusion before tons more came his way.

"Get away from him!"

"Leave Max alone!"

"Just get out of here!"

"I'LL FUCK YOU UP!"

The two parents quickly covered their heads as a group of children was throwing stones, bricks, sticks, and whatever else they could get their hands on at them. All of the sudden, the attack stopped and both parents were covered in blood and bruises.

"Was that all you little shits got?!" The male yelled.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" He turned to see his other half held at knife point, as it was sticking dangerously close her neck. Jen smiled brightly.

"If I were you, I would hurry and leave." She said, a small plan of her and Daniel's already forming. The two were frozen before the man walked towards his truck.

"Fine! That little shit isn't worth the time of day." He muttered as David slowly stood up.

"You're wrong, Max is worth everything." David said as the man rolled his eyes. When the male was in the truck, Jen let the female go as she staggered and hurried inside too. The tuck turned around and sped off. David laughed as he stood up, a tool box in hand. "What's so funny…?" David asked as David and Jen looked at him, their bright eyes shining.

"I cut his breaks."

David shuttered, he would deal with that in a moment. He looked down at Max and quickly went to kneel beside him. "Max! Are you alright?" David instantly cradled the boy as he seemed to finally have his breathing under control.

"I…I'm fine David..." Max muttered and attempted to get out of his grasp, but that didn't stop the male from tightening his grip on him.

"No Max, nothing is fine... you don't have to keep pushing me away. I'll always be here for you. You don't have to open up right now, but I'll be here when you need me." David explained, which caused the boy to stop struggling for a moment. David nodded at the others.

"Alright, lets head to bed." Gwen said, the campers nodded solemnly. She would've said something along the lines of 'Alright you little shits, time for bed.', but that didn't seem right to use right now. Not after he said it… David smiled down at Max.

"Let's go to bed, alright buddy?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David smiled as he patted Max gently on his shoulder. “This day is dedicated just for you bud.” David said, hoping to cheer up the younger boy. Max watched him for a moment and narrowed his eyes. He certainly wouldn’t fall for this trick. It was too easy in his mind. He just rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! So this is out now, sorry for the delay. You all know how it goes with Drill and all. I hope you enjoyed! This is an apology for how angsty the other was with Max's parents. You all deserve some nice fluffy Dadvid in your life haha.

It was easy to assume that the next few days were a bit awkward. So as a way to compensate, the counselor’s decided to make today Max’s camp activity! Max glared at all four as he saw the mess hall was full of knitting equipment. What made it worse was that Jen looked especially pleased with this type of camp.

She probably wanted to see if Max would make her some clothes, which he most definitely would not.

David smiled as he patted Max gently on his shoulder. “This day is dedicated just for you bud.” David said, hoping to cheer up the younger boy. Max watched him for a moment and narrowed his eyes. He certainly wouldn’t fall for this trick. It was too easy in his mind. He just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, thanks David.” Max muttered as the kids all went to work.

It honestly wasn’t that too bad of a time. Max had gone up in the middle and was supposed to teach each camper how to knit. Surprisingly enough, Max was perfect for this job. Not only were others comfortable with him, he didn’t get angry if they didn’t understand something. Sure, sometimes he called them dubasses, but when did he not?

When the kids dispersed to make whatever they want, Max was knitting away. He wasn’t paying much mind to others, in fact, he was sitting by himself as he made a majority of items. It didn’t take him long to make any one thing at all, which was extremely impressive.

“Hey there lil buddy!” Max rolled his eyes, but didn’t look up from his work.

“What do you want now Daniel?” Max asked as Daniel smiled.

“No harm here, I was just wondering why you’re constantly giving David a hard time. He tried hard to plan this, you know?” Daniel asked as Max relaxed instantly. So this wasn’t some weird ploy to get Max to like him better? Thank God.

“First off, you should learn to mind your own fucking business. Second, I know what he’s really doing.” Max said with a small smirk. Daniel gave him a confused glance as Max let out an exhausted huff before whispering something in the other’s ear.

It clicked.

“Ohhh~. Well, we certainly can’t have that. Do you have any ideas?” Daniel asked as Max thought for a moment.

“A few, listen up.” He decided as Daniel shrugged. The two instantly went to work.

~Time Skip~

David was enjoying his time. He was so proud to see that Max was working well with others on a subject he excelled at. He knew letting him teach this class would be a great idea. Max didn’t even lose his patience with anyone! Not even Space Kid! David knew Max had some well-deserved food (that was not made by the Quartermaster) with his name on it. After all, he could barely get Max to get what the QM made, and David couldn’t have the boy going to bed hungry.

Sure most parents would say to eat what they made or nothing at all, but Max was already so small… So it was best to just work with him until they could get everything sorted out.

“Hey David?” A bleach blonde female walked up to him.

“What do you need Jen?” He asked happily.

“I was looking for Max; I was going to see what he could make me with these colors.” She said, it was clear to tell that she was more than excited. After all, she held up multiple balls of yarn.

“Of course! He’s right over- “David pointed to a now empty table. Well, not completely empty… a knitted doll of Max fell over. David let out a small sigh. He was really going to have to work on noticing the switch out sooner. Though what made his heart stop was the knitted version of Daniel that toppled over as well.

Of course Daniel was starting to learn to change from his old ways, but… He couldn’t fully trust Daniel to be alone with Max yet. It spelled trouble for whoever took whoever.

Max could very easily be torturing Daniel. He recalled Max once saying that if Daniel ever crossed the line, he would shove some wasabi and spicy mustard up his nose. David wasn’t quite sure where Max had learned that threat, but it definitely sounded painful.

Daniel could have taken Max and did God knows what. David didn’t fully believe Daniel to be out of his old habits. So if things turned out on the better end of things, Max would have his purified personality again and they would just have to simply wait out the effects.

Either way, they had to get to work.

Gwen walked by and let out a soft sigh. “How does he get past all of us Every. Single. Time?” She asked as she shook her head. “I guess I can watch the campers; they aren’t being shitbags right now so it’ll be easy.” Gwen said as Jen nodded.

“I’ll go with you.” Jen offered. David nodded at her decision, clearly not minding to have her along for the ride as the two left to go see what trouble that Max or David could be causing.

“Do you think we should spit up?” Jen asked as they continued to walk further around the camp, David’s worry only increased.

“I think that might be best.” He decided. It only occurred to him later that it would probably not be the best idea since both cultists could have been working together, or Jen could be trying to stir up some trouble on her own.

~Line Break~

Max stumbled inside of the QM shop, keeping in mind not to touch anything. Daniel already got him inside, now he just had to grab what he needed and then he would get out. Max jumped slightly at the next sound, three quick knocks. He quickly knew that was the signal that the QM was coming. Max quickly dived behind the trunk of hair as the door slowly opened.

The QM grumbled softly as he searched around his shop. “…Darn kids… makin a mess in my shop….” After a brief moment of silence, Max would have screamed out in fear at being picked (or well…hooked…) up but he only glared as his reaction. The QM walked out of his shop and went towards Daniel’s hiding spot, which was actually surprisingly good, as the QM dropped Max on the ground along with a small bag before he walked away.

Max and Daniel were silent as Max grabbed the bag and looked inside. “U…Score?” He said, reporting the mission to be a success as Daniel gave a worried glance over to the QM.

“How did he know what we needed?” Daniel asked as Max shrugged.

“I don’t question it.” He said casually as he was picked up a second time in the last few minutes. He glared up at Jen. “Why does everyone want to fucking pick me up?! Put me down! Now!!” Max demanded, which was ignored as Jen looked at Daniel.

“What are you two doing out here? Oh! Are you forcing him to knit you cute clothes!” She gasped as Daniel chuckled softly.

“Not at the moment.” He said as he whispered something in Jen’s ear.

“Is that right? Okay! I want in.”

~Time Skip~

Of course David ended up never finding Max, Daniel, nor Jen. This put his senses on high alert as he headed back towards Gwen.

“Gwen! We need to- “He froze as he stared into an empty Mess Hall. He hesitated slightly as he walked into the Mess Hall. He winced slightly as light flashed into his eye, but was surprised to see that it was a pink, bedazzled knife that was stuck into the wall along with a note attached.

‘BONEFIRE. COME AND WATCH THE SLOW BURN’

The note sent a chill down David’s spine as he slowly walked out towards the site where they held the last bonfire. Of course the site of all the campers, including Gwen, tied up near the large pile of sticks was not a sight he wanted to see. But the second he got close, three bodies jumped out, two just jumped on the side as the shorter one ran up and pushed him down.

“SURPRISE!!!” A scream echoed out in response before he slowly pulled himself together. Max merely rolled his eyes as David looked around, fully taking in to notice the supplies that was well hidden. A cake… streamers… balloons…

Daniel and Jen went to untie the campers and Gwen let out a tired sigh. “You could have just told us you were throwing a birthday party.” Gwen mumbled as the rest of the campers stood, all in all not really minding the way they got included since it scared the shit out of David.

David looked around confused. “How did you all know…” Max cleared his throat.

“Remember when I stole your identity last year? Your social, your phone, all that good stuff. Well, I saw it in there.” Max shrugged as David smiled softly as he pulled Max into a hug. The young boy was certainly embarrassed, after all, this was happening in front of his friends, but he didn’t pull away from it.

“Thanks Max, just… next time, try not to give me a heart attack about where you’ve gone.” David laughed as he stroked Mac’s curls easily.

“I... I know.” He muttered, glaring at the ground. Of course, he was glaring because he was frustrated on something, not because he was angry. Gwen smiled.

“Alright, let’s go eat that cake kids.” She said as the campers piled around it. Max cleared his throat as he stood up.

“So... here. Now you can’t say I’ve never got anything for you…” Max was clearly embarrassed as he shoved the bag in David’s chest. The older male gave it a curious glance before he opened it. Inside was a letter, an article of clothing Max knitted himself.

David pulled out the letter first.

 

Dear David,

You thought you could sneak away from a birthday? You should know us better. We would never let you off the hook. I know I’m a pretty shitty kid, so doesn’t that make you equally as shitty for taking me in? So thanks for taking me in. I don’t know why you would want too dumbass.

So thanks Dad.

Max

P.S. DO NOT LOOK TOO DEEPLY INTO THAT

 

 

David held back tears as he looked over what he said again. He knew how hard it was for Max, and it was clear that Max crossed out any words that insulted David, so it was hard for him to write this. David smiled as he pulled out the last thing. Which was a yellow scarf that was knitted. Of course David wore the Camp Campbell shirt around his neck, but that would obviously have to change now. He smiled as he quickly traded the two, putting the shirt and the letter in the bag as he looked up to Max, who was now gone. Of course he was…But this time he was with the others, eating cake.

Max didn’t want to call David Dad ever, after all, David was nothing like his Dad. But after some thought, he decided that wouldn’t be fair at all. Max’s father was never his ‘Dad’. And David obviously wanted to be a father. So right now he would write out Dad, and hopefully he’ll be able to call David that soon enough.

The group ate cake, sang happy birthday, pelted David with water balloons, played games, and finally lit the fire. This time, Daniel and Jen stopped Max from covering it in gasoline, even though he constantly called them dumbasses.

It was a pretty nice feeling. For dinner, Max and David went into town to go eat something special (of course he had to promise the other counselors that he would bring them back food as well) and the night ended quite nicely.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise surprise, I'm still alive! Yup, I'm actually almost finished with this semester of school... Thank God.. Anyways, please tell me how you thought this chapter was!

The day started off good, nothing new in particular. Well… at least it started that way. Now it was just-

"I told you I would make you pay Davey!"

"Put me the fuck down!"

"Please! Don't hurt him!"

"You shouldn't have crossed me!"

"What the fuck! Stop! That HURTS!"

"NO!"

~That morning~

David woke up and smiled softly. It was a pretty good way to start the morning for him. He had Max curled up beside him, Gwen was actually asleep beside him as well.

"I will cut you bitch!" The television rang out softly as he looked around. How could this be… so… perfect? Usually, when he fell asleep with Max, this sense of pride filled him entirely. Now… content? He couldn't describe it. He glanced at Gwen and felt his face heat up a bit. What... What was this feeling?

He looked down at Max and saw a pair of bright eyes staring at him, he felt like the kid was looking into his soul… He smiled slowly and ruffled the child's hair. "Good morning Max." David said softly as Max rolled his eyes.

"David, you're two hours late on waking everyone up."

"WHAT!?"

~Time Skip~

Despite the late wake-up, David had every camper up and ready easily enough. After he had everyone eat, he smiled as they began the focus on today's camp. This was a Nurf's camp today.

Recently, the child has gotten a bit less violent. He was still sporadic and his knife collection only increased after finding where Gwen had stashed Jen and Daniel's, but he was clearly getting better. David was proud of him. He hadn't used physical force unless it was a way to help or protect his friends… David couldn't be more proud.

So what happened was that Nurf went ahead and began making bracelets for everyone. With a thought in mind of "Make friends, not punching bags". It was a cute thought.

David, Gwen, Daniel, and Jen went ahead and took seats around with the campers. David went ahead next to his son and his group. Gwen sat next to Harrison, Nerris, and Spacekid. Jen went ahead and sat next to Ered, Dolph, and Preston. Daniel then went up with Nurf, who was in the middle and helped the child make the bracelets. David smiled at that. It seemed each counselor had taken a liking to a particular group. It was nice that the children could get more one on one time with them. They were getting the attention they deserved.

"Hey, Max! I made all three of us one!" Nikki explained enthusiastically as she shoved the bracelets on the two boys.

"Nikki, these are actually pretty nice!" Neil explained as Max rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, but what for? We don't need stupid bracelets to show that we're friends. Maybe it'll show others that we're gay." Max tried to insult, however, he hadn't taken it off yet.

"Well, it's more of a claim. Like how animals claim what's theirs? You guys are my best friends! I won't let anyone take you!"

"She could either piss on us or give us the bracelets Max, you decide which you want."

"Bracelet," Max said as he looked away. Nikki hurried over to the two and hugged them tightly. David smiled softly at that, even though it was hard to see; Max was growing closer and closer to the two. He felt something get shoved in his hands and he looked down to see a green bracelet.

"You're included in this too!" Nikki said happily. "After all, you helped out Max!" She said and David felt his heart swell. This was beyond words…

"Nikki... I'll always be here for all of you. No matter what." David promised he saw the time. "Alright campers, time for lunch!" David called as they all entered in. Max stayed behind, the other counselors giving him a small grin of encouragement before entering in with the others campers. David stayed behind and kneeled down to Max's level. "What's on your mind, Max?"

"With what you told Nikki..." Max hesitated and looked away a bit. "Are you really going to be here for us always?" Max asked, he seemed embarrassed to be asking this. David wasn't entirely sure where this uncertainty was coming from, but he was quick to get rid of it. He hugged Max close and smiled softly.

"I will always be here for you all Max, I won't go anywhere," David promised and Max looked up at him. "What caused this question?" He asked curiously.

"It's just… I want to make sure." Max replied as David smiled softly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Max." David promised, as he stood up and turned around. "Now, let's head into the Mess Hall and eat something."

What happened next was completely by surprise.

"Gotcha brat!"

"Lemme go!"

David was quick to turn around, his dad instincts through the roof, and his blood ran cold.

There he was, Mr. Campbell, holding up his son by his hood. Cameron had Max close to him. He was holding the child's arms behind his back at an uncomfortable angle (at least the look on Max's face showed that).

"Let me go you fucking pysco!"

"Nice to see you again Davey!"

"Mr. Campbell?! What are you doing? Put Max down now!" He demanded as Campbell only held Max tighter.

"Now now Davey, I told you I would make you pay Davey!" Campbell yelled, an odd look on his face as David shivered.

"Put me the fuck down!" Max demanded.

"Please! Don't hurt him!" David instantly begged.

"You shouldn't have crossed me!" Campbell said as he only tightened his grip, causing Max to cry out in pain.

"What the fuck! Stop! That HURTS!"

"NO!"

A snap.

It rang out so suddenly that everything was quiet for a moment, all until David saw the look on Max's face.

Pure agony.

It took everything in his tiny body to not scream out in agony. EVERYTHING. David was so scared that he didn't know what to say, he couldn't speak.

"Please…I'll do anything." David begged, he needed to get Max out of there. Max NEEDED a hospital.

"David, what's going on out there?" That voice was Gwen, it seemed to have startled both Mr. Campbell and David.

"Meet me in my basement in my house on Spooky Island, if you know what's good for you." Cameron said as he slowly began to back away.

"David?..." Max uttered through his clenched teeth, still frozen in pain.

"I'll get you away from him Max, I swear." David promised.

The next second was a blur. Gwen ran out and Cameron was gone.

"Where's Max, if you two don't hurry up, Nikki will eat all of the food." She warned as David fell to his knees. "Hey, what's wrong?" Gwen asked as David shook his head.

"Mr. Campbell took Max… and he broke his arm."


	14. Chapter 14

“He did FUCKING WHAT?!” Gwen yelled out in pure anger. David was completely broken and didn’t even respond as Gwen, Jen, and Daniel fumed. Of course, negative energy was something Daniel didn’t usually feel too much himself, but how could you not get upset at this news? 

“What should we do next?” Jen asked as she leaned against the wall. 

“I need to go to Spooky Island to get Max back.” David explained, finally answering them after not saying a word for twenty minutes. 

“You can’t just go to Spooky Island David, there’s no telling what he’ll do to you! Gwen explained as David shook his head. 

“There’s no other choice Gwen! Max needs me right now.” David explained, looking pretty damn close to tears. 

“Then we’ll need a plan.” 

~~

Max was currently tied up on the ground in some dusty fucking basement in the beat-up house the Quartermaster has his old fuck friends meet up at. Seriously, this fucking sucked. There was one bright side though, his broken arm wasn’t hurting as much. But it was certainly swelling. How did he know? He could feel it. 

“What the hell are you trying to do here?” Max sneered at the older man, watching him. Campbell was a freaking mess. Covered in dirt and mud, probably from escaping prison. How the hell did he even get out? He seemed more nervous, more on edge. He was constantly pacing, constantly moving. It was a bit weird seeing him like this. 

“Well if you must know, I’m going to make all you little brats pay for what you did.” Campbell explained. 

“We didn’t do anything. You’re a shitty person so you got what you des-OW!!” Max cried out a bit in pain as he was smacked hard across the face.

“Keep your mouth shut Brat! Don’t think for a second, you’re safe after Davey gets here. It’s going to be you, Davey, and Gabriella!” He explained as Max hesitated before giving him a dead stare. 

“Gwen, dumbass.” 

“What did I say?” He asked before shaking his head. “No matter.” He muttered before he glared at the child. “Either way, I’ll make you three pay for ruining my life before I finally make my run for it!”

“Run for where!? You fucked up at the last three places, you don’t have anymore money.” Campbell chuckled softly though at the anger coming from the small child. 

“You don’t always need money….. Monty?” 

“Max.” 

“Max. It’s funny how easy others will believe in you. Now, enough of this small talk. David seems to be taking his time. Maybe we should let him know the consequences of making me wait.” That made Max nervous to his core and it certainly made him shut the hell up. He was quiet as Campbell came close to him while he was cracking his knuckles. 

“Leave him alone!” 

“David!” Max yelled out, and of course there David was. He looked confidant, but scared. 

“Davey! Nice of you to join us! Now all I need to do is snatch Gloria up and we’ll have our little ‘family’ here completed.” 

“Gwen, you fucker! How bad are you with names?!” 

“Thanks Max, but he doesn’t need to snatch me up anywhere.” Gwen came through the door too. A slightly bored expression was on her face, but it was clear to see how she was also pissed. 

“Ah! Way to make things easier! Now go over there.” Campbell directed as Max looked up at the two of them. 

David and Gwen quickly walked over to where Max was quickly and quickly went to untie him. 

“Way to be an asshole! Tying up the kid…” Gwen muttered as Campbell just watched them. His arms were crossed as he narrowed his eyes at the group. 

“How pathetic.” Campbell said as he sighed softly. “It’ll be fun to give you what you deserve before leaving.” Campbell muttered to himself. Though they were barely paying much attention to him anymore. David finished up untying Max before he pulled his son into a tight hug. 

“Max I was so worried.” David said as he held him close. 

“Yeah yeah, let’s worry about the main villain here David.” Max explained as Gwen quickly tensed up. 

“What the hell?!” Pointed straight at the three was a handheld gun. David was quick to pull Max fully behind him and kept Gwen close. 

“Mr. Campbell, what are you doing?” David asked, eyes trained on the main weapon. 

“I’m going to make you suffer Davey.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m going to make you suffer Davey.”

“ _I’m going to make you suffer Davey_.”

“Mr. Campbell, please... Just consider what you’re doing here.” David begged as the man only seemed to get more agitated.

“I’ve considered it for long enough! You’ve nearly ruined everything I worked for! All I asked was for you to be a pretend fucking family Davey!” Campbell yelled out. “You’ve crossed me, but it’s merely a bump in the road. A bump I intend to fix.” He explained as he pointed the gun down towards Max.

“Now Space Kid!”

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!” Letting out a pathetic war cry, the Space freak ran towards Campbell. The older male quickly aimed a shot at the child, only to have the bullet bounce off his helmet.

“Shit!” The child ran over and began hitting at the older man’s legs. Of course, he couldn’t do much right now. Space Kid wasn’t exactly excelling in the physical department at the moment. But a bullet proof distraction really was one of the best. Coming down from the laundry shoot, Nikki landed right on Campbells face and began rabidly tearing up.

“Ah! What the hell!!?”

“Get the gun!” A chorus of screams erupted as all of the campers charged forward, each attacking in their own way. Nerris threw her multi sided die straight into Campbell’s face. The male cried out in pain as he felt the die get thrown right into his eyes. Kneeling in pain and tossing Nikki off of him, Ered made her way in for her turn. Ered found a bat with nails wedged into the end, a very efficient weapon to use against douchebags. Feeling the pain instantly surge in his back, Campbell ended up on all fours. Nurf threw multiple punches at the man and even shoved one of his multiple knives straight into Campbell’s hand; which caused the man to let go of his gun. Harrison quickly grabbed it before Campbell could take a leap and shoved it inside of his hat.

Acting quickly, Campbell tossed Harrison to the side as he reached inside of the worthless hat, only... where the hell did his weapon go?! Hearing Max cough it up sounded…incredibly painful (and it even gave David a mini heart attack), but David quickly grabbed the weapon. Campbell pushed away the children and tossed them to the side as he tried to approach the male.

“All of you are going to regret this!” The closer Campbell got, the more nervous David looked about holding the weapon. He couldn’t shoot his idol! Though… he couldn’t put Max in this sort of danger. Taking a deep breath, he held the weapon a bit steadier as Cameron faltered. That was where Dolph stepped in. Quickly spraying the ground with paint, Campbell slipped up on the ground and completely fell to the floor. Groaning in pain as Preston threw his stage props at the fallen man. Gwen took the gun from David, who looking like a shaking ten-year-old after a few more minutes of holding the weapon (God, HIS ten-year-old was taking this whole thing better than him!) and aimed it straight for Campbell.

“And on that note, kids. What the hell! This wasn’t the plan.” Gwen was clearly frustrated. Of course, David and she were incompetent adults, but not so much that they would tell children to face this threat head on! The original plan was to call the cops and when she called out Space Kid, they were supposed to come in and handle this shit.

“Yeah… I’m the only one who actually followed the plan.” Neil explained as he walked through the doors. “Cops should be here in an hour.” He explained with a shrug. Gwen just groaned and ran a hand down her face.

“Which gives us an hour to think up an explanation for Cameron Campbell’s death.” Daniel sung out softly as him and Jen crossed their arms. Gwen just rolled her eyes.

“No killing.” Was her simple retort before she turned towards Max. Leaning down, both her and David took a knee. “Are you alright, kid?”

“Yeah, it’s not like I have a fucking broken arm Gwen.” Max quickly retorted, David laughed softly, and Gwen smiled.

“Yeah, unfortunately that’s going to take a couple weeks to heal.” Gwen explained while standing to her full height.

“Really though Max, are you alright?” He asked as he placed a hand on the younger one’s shoulder. Max hesitated as he looked up at his dad. Clearly confused, the ten-year-old sighed before shrugging. David gave him a gentle smile before he picked up the small child.

“Then let’s go on and head home.”

~~

Of course, Daniel and Jen didn’t listen to Gwen and ended up killing the man. So when the cops came just to question the counselors on their stories, as soon as Gwen heard it was a corpse, she rolled her eyes.

“God fucking dammit.”

“Excuse me ma’am?” The cop questioned as he paused in his writing.

“I-I meant- “

‘She said God help us all.” Daniel said as he placed a hand on his heart. “Really, all we have right now is the one up in the sky.” He said with a small, fake sob escaping his lips.

“Right…” The cop cleared his throat. “Well clearly you all were just defending yourselves. We’ll take care of the body, but we’re going to have our boys visit every once in awhile just to make sure everyone is alright.” He explained, tipping his hat at the adults.

“I think everyone in this town is fucking stupid.” Max said, a cup of coffee was held in his hand that wasn’t shoved in a cast.

“Hey…Language...” David said with a soft sigh, taking a seat as Max came up beside him. David let a small smile grace his lips before he patted his head gently. “I’m never letting you out of my sight.” He explained, hugging the child close to him. Max just groaned loudly, making it seem as though his life was awful.

Though David knew the child was smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. So I decided to start up this story here. Please leave reviews, I really want to know what you all think. If you all are are wondering about my other story, don't worry. I'm also posting an update for that. I'm sorry for my long absence but I'll try to get back into the swing of things! Also, I want to hear if you all would like or prefer something to happen. I can maybe try something romance wise... maybe. Or if you guys want Daniel or the Wood Scouts to appear, go ahead and tell me. I'll happily do something and incorporate it into the story, mostly because right now it doesn't have a direct route.


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